Pittsburgh doctors stress importance of eye safety during solar eclipse
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - You have been hearing for weeks to buy the special ISO glasses if you want to look at the upcoming eclipse.
What is the risk of looking at the eclipse without them?
It is not being dramatic or exaggerating to say a momentary lapse and looking at the eclipse could create a lifetime of damage.
The experts are all sending out warnings of vision damage from the eclipse, but the sun's up there every day, right?
"Prolonged staring at the sun can do the same thing," according to Ellen Butts at the UPMC Vision Institute.
Dr. Butts says the difference is most of us can't look at a full sun long enough to do damage, but that could be different with an eclipse.
"You have the ability to stare longer at the sun, and it can take a few seconds, and you can have possibly permanent damage to the retina with no proven treatments."
"It burns the retina. It will create an area where you're not seeing or blurred spot," Dr. Butts explained to KDKA-TV's Meghan Schiller.
You may not see the impact in minutes, or it could take hours to days, but when it does develop, it's like creating a hole in your vision, like when you read.
"I feel like it's disappearing or a letter keeps coming in and out of view because there's a central blurred spot or missing area in their vision."
Dr. Butts says the ISO glasses are safe, but if you have glasses from the last eclipse, she recommends a new pair.
"Don't use those. They might be scratched. They might allow more light in, so get yourself a fresh pair," she said.
Dr. Butts also says she would not allow children to use the glasses because they may be tempted to look around them. Instead, they should use the pinhole method.
How long before you know if you've done permanent damage to your eyes?
It's not immediate. You will see the spot, and it could take three to six months to finally go away, or it could be permanent.
There's no set time for when damage happens, but it's understood that it could happen in seconds.
