Hyderabad: Viewing a solar eclipse without adequate precaution can cause blindness, medical experts said.
Dr. Nag Raj, an eye specialist, said that the eyes have powerful lenses, the cornea and crystalline lens. They focus what we see on to the macula of the retina. When you look at the sun or an eclipse, its intense light gets focused on the macula, quickly burning it! This damage is cumulative and mostly permanent. That means, if you view the sun for a few seconds today and again tomorrow, the two damages will keep adding on. Many people visit eye doctors after an eclipse with serious eye problems. Many go much later with irreversible macular defects due to repeated sun gazing.
“A young yoga teacher visited me a few weeks ago with distorted vision in both eyes. The reason was that he was looking at the sun every morning! His poor eyesight could be partially reversed, but what about the thousands of people he advised to do sun-gazing? Please don’t see the sun directly. Looking at the sun is not a part of Surya Namaskara too! Worship the sun with closed eyes,” he said.
“Don’t take any chance with your vision. It is not heroic to see the sun directly! I know of a few children who came with blurred vision, as they all competed with each other to see the sun directly for the longest period. Take zero risk, and just don’t look at the sun at all. Instead, create a pinhole camera by making multiple tiny holes in an opaque cardboard and project the sun’s image onto another card board or a wall.
The projected sun image will show the crescent of the Sun as the Moon travels across,”an expert said.
