'Why do my eyes hurt?' Searches about eye injuries see massive spike amid solar eclipse
For some, special glasses to safely take in Monday's solar eclipse were a hot commodity.
The glasses let you see more detail as the moon passed in front of the sun in the solar eclipse that won't pass through the contiguous U.S. again until 2044. They also protected your eyes from the damaging effects of the sun's rays.
But as far as Google searches go, it appears not everyone dutifully wore their glasses as they tried to take in the solar eclipse, which stretched across the U.S. Monday in a northeast path from Texas to Maine.
According to Google Trends, which analyzes queries made across Google, there was a significant spike in searches for terms relating to the eclipse and eyes health on Monday, including the terms "why do my eyes hurt" and "my eyes hurt."
If you delve further into the Google Trends data, and sort the "Interest by Subregion" tab by metro, searches for "my eyes hurt" almost follow the eclipse's direct path.
Related searches include "eyes hurt after looking at the eclipse" and "can the eclipse hurt your eyes."
How can the solar eclipse hurt eyes?
Staring directly at the sun without safety eyewear can cause irreversible eye damage within seconds, according to the Adler Planetarium. Eclipse observers will likely not register pain as there are no nerve endings inside the eye.
If your eyes or vision feel off after doing this it could be a sign of solar retinopathy, when light damages the retina.
The pain of looking at the sun is not instant and the same goes for symptoms of damage.
Someone may not know they experienced solar retinopathy until hours after exposure, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information.
Symptoms of eye damage after the solar eclipse
The American Academy of Opthamology (or AAO) said visual symptoms typically begin within few to six hours but some can experience them after 12 hours.
According to the AAO, these are the following symptoms of eye damage people can notice after starring at the sun:
- Blurry vision
- Headache
- A blind spot in your central vision in one or both eyes
- Increased sensitivity to light
- Distorted vision such as a straight line appearing bent or a door jamb looking curvy
- Changes in the way you see color or dyschromatopsia
Contributing: Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY.