Looking at eclipse without safety glasses causes permanent damage

SALEM, Va. – The solar eclipse is just a few days away and as the excitement grows, the number of solar eclipse glasses available is shrinking.

Will Griffeth, an ophthalmologist with Vistar Eye Center in Salem, says focusing on it for even just a few seconds without the solar eclipse safety glasses can be permanently damaging, causing a spot in our central vision that is gray or black.

You may have heard that it is safe to take off your glasses and look at the sun directly during the point of totality. That is true, but we won't have a point of totality in southwest Virginia. At the peak point for people in the New River and Roanoke Valleys as well as Southside and Central Virginia, the sun will be 90 percent covered by the moon.  At least 10 percent is still exposed and bright enough to cause permanent damage to our eyes.

Griffeth says the impact even a few seconds of looking at the sun can have on our eyes is very serious. He explains it like an experiment many of us may have done as kids.

"Just like you can focus light on the sidewalk with a magnifying glass, the sun's light can be focused on the area responsible for your central vision," he says. "It can cause permanent damage and that's not something we have any treatment for."

That damage, known as solar retinopathy, can include blind spots, distortions or loss of contrast in our central vision. It's damaged it would have a serious impact on our everyday lives.

"Anything you look at directly," he says would be affected. "Reading, recognizing faces, driving, street signs and that kind of thing. It would be pretty profound."

Sunglasses when I'll be enough to protect your eyes. Griffeth says the only way to safely look up during the solar eclipse is with an approved pair of eclipse glasses.

Just because your glasses say solar eclipse or indicate they're made for watching Monday's event, doesn't mean they're safe to use.

There are two ways that all approved glasses will have, the first is an ISO number. The glasses should be clearly labeled with ISO 12312-2, which is an international safety standard that means the glasses will reduce visible sunlight to safe levels and also block UV and IR radiation.

"A second key detail you want to look for is to have the address of the company that is making them," says Griffeth. "Even that may not keep you completely safe but there's a lot of opportunity for fraud and a lot of glasses sold on the Internet that may not be completely protected."

NASA has posted a list of approved brands and vendors. Solar eclipse glasses purchased at 7-Eleven, Best Buy, Kirklands, Kroger, Lowe's, Pilot/Flying J, Toys "R" Us and Walmart are all on that approved vendor list, meaning they're considered safe to use.

Another test you can use to see if your glasses will block enough light is to put them on and look around. You should not be able to see any light through the lenses except for when you look directly at the sun. While that will affect the amount of light the lenses let in, it is not a guarantee that the glasses you have will block those harmful UV and IR rays as well.

Local libraries will also be giving out approved solar eclipse glasses at viewing events on Monday. For a full list of NASA-approved viewing events in our area, click here.