Sigh. Yes, staring directly at the sun without glasses is dangerous, experts say | Fact check

Hannah Hudnall, USA TODAY
·4 min read

The claim: You don't need protective eyewear to watch an eclipse safely

An April 5 Instagram video (direct link, archive link) shows a man talking about how he plans to view the April 8 total solar eclipse without protective glasses.

"Are you looking at the eclipse with glasses? No, no, no, no, no," says the man. "I didn't wear any glasses when I watched the eclipse last time. I just went outside and watched it in my backyard and just sat there and looked at it ... They're teaching people to wear glasses, to be afraid of nature. You know, you're shielding yourself from nature."

He goes on to say that the UV rays emitted from the sun are "very healing."

The video garnered more than 4,000 likes in four days. The user shared the same claim on Facebook and another Instagram page as well.

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Our rating: False

Staring at the sun without protective eyewear can cause permanent eye damage and even blindness, according to NASA and ophthalmology experts. Protective glasses that comply with international standards should be worn during an eclipse to protect the retinas from damaging UV rays.

Eclipse glasses prevent irreversible eye damage

Millions of Americans viewed the total solar eclipse on April 8, equipped with the special protective glasses recommended by NASA and other experts.

The space administration urged eclipse-watchers to use either specialized eye protection or indirect viewing methods, such as pinhole projection, during all eclipse phases except the brief moment of totality when the moon completely blocked the sun. The administration's website explains that safe solar viewers that comply with the ISO 12312-2 international standard are thousands of times darker than regular sunglasses.

The glasses are often made with a polyester film coated in aluminum and block nearly all visible, infrared and ultraviolet light.

Emily Schehlein, an American Academy of Ophthalmology spokesperson, told USA TODAY that staring directly at the sun without proper eye protection can cause serious eye damage within seconds – eclipse or otherwise.

“Looking at the bright sun and an eclipse are both dangerous – individuals may not feel the same sensation of brightness when looking at the eclipse, but the eye is still at very high risk for irreversible damage," she said in an email. "Symptoms will not show up until hours afterward and do not include eye pain – as the retina doesn’t have pain nerves. Symptoms do include blurry vision, headache, blind spots in your vision, distorted vision or sensitivity to light."

Staring at the sun without proper protection can permanently damage retinas and even cause a type of blindness called solar retinopathy, according to the academy's website.

Similar to NASA, Schehlein said the only safe way to look directly at the sun is through the special-purpose solar filters used in eclipse glasses and hand-held solar viewers. She also said that as soon as the sun begins to reappear after totality you should wear the lenses again to avoid eye damage.

The American Optometric Association website recommends similar protective measures on its website.

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The man is also incorrect in saying UV rays are "healing." UV radiation from natural sunlight or indoor artificial rays can damage the eye's surface tissues, the cornea and the lens, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology. The academy recommends buying sunglasses that provide 100% UV or UV400 protection, or block both UV-A and UV-B rays, to avoid developing conditions such as cataracts, snow blindness, eye cancer and growths on the eye.

USA TODAY reported that following the eclipse on April 8 Google searches for terms relating to eye health surged significantly, including the terms "why do my eyes hurt" and "my eyes hurt." The regions where searches for "my eyes hurt" increased almost followed the eclipse's direct path, USA TODAY noted.

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

AFP previously debunked a similar claim.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Eclipse glasses recommended by experts for good reasons | Fact check