Health
Eye injuries after solar eclipse surge following phenomenon
Immediately after Monday’s solar eclipse, the number of people searching Google for eye-related injuries jumped while one doctor in New York City says she treated a surge of patients with eye pain.
“I had several patients come in panicking saying ‘I don’t want to go blind,’” Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, a New York City-based double board-certified doctor tells Fox News Digital. “I couldn’t believe it, people actually looked at the eclipse without protection.”
Doctors and eye specialists had been warning the public for days not to look directly at the sun, but apparently, some did not heed the advice.
SOLAR ECLIPSE EYE SAFETY: CAN STARING AT THE SUN CAUSE BLINDNESS?
People look toward the sky at the Edge at Hudson Yards observation deck ahead of a total solar eclipse in New York City on April 8, 2024. (Charly Triballeau/AFP)
Looking at the sun without protective equipment such as solar eclipse glasses can harm vision and can lead to serious and permanent damage. Nesheiwat says the sun’s rays can burn the retina and damage the macula, the part of the retina at the back of the eye that is responsible for central vision.
Google searches for “hurt eyes” and “why do my eyes hurt after the eclipse” rose after the moon and sun aligned on Monday.
In terms of national figures, a CDC spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the National Center for Health Statistics does not have any data on eye damage following the eclipse.
However, Nesheiwat says she treated up to eight patients who came into the City MD she works out of near Madison Square Garden in Midtown Manhattan, with one patient looking at the sun either directly or through his phone for about 10 minutes, she says.
“The damage can be irreversible if the retina is severely damaged by looking directly at the without proper eye protection. Some people may have mild symptoms if the exposure to the sun was brief.”
Dr. Janette Nesheiwat says she treated patients for eye damage on Monday following the eclipse. (Fox News, left, and Gary Hershorn/Getty Images, right.)
FOR SOLAR ECLIPSE SAFETY, HERE’S WHAT DRIVERS SHOULD NOT DO ON THE ROAD DURING THE RARE EVENT
“Symptoms my patients suffered included headaches, blurry vision, and nausea while one of my patients said he was seeing spots. Other symptoms can include a change in color vision,” Nesheiwat added, saying she sent that patient to an eye care specialist, known as an ophthalmologist, for further treatment. “Then it was crazy, we were trying to make appointments for them with the eye specialists and all the eye specialists were booked up within an hour.”
She treated some patients with nausea medicine and eyedrops and recommended they have follow-up appointments with an eye doctor.
Symptoms may appear after a few days, Nesheiwat said, and she urged people to visit a medical doctor to have a full eye examination if this is the case.
In the meantime, she said those people should stop looking at the sun, avoid rubbing their eyes, avoid strenuous activities on the eyes like excessive reading or use of electronic devices. She added they need to make sure they are wearing sunglasses that have UV protection when outdoors also.
People watch with solar glasses as the moon starts to cross in front of the sun during a total solar eclipse in Carbondale, Illinois on April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
While the vast majority took precautions while gazing at the eclipse, there is a chance some may have done so with solar eclipse glasses that have been recalled.
The Illinois Department of Public Health sent out a last-minute recall notice on Monday for eclipse glasses that may have potentially failed to meet safety standards.
The agency asked customers to double-check if they had bought the glasses labeled “EN ISO 12312-1:2022” and warned them not to use the glasses to view the eclipse.
The glasses in question were reportedly sold through Amazon as “Biniki Solar Eclipse Glasses AAS Approved 2024 – CE & ISO Certified Safe Shades for Direct Sun Viewing (6 Packs).” The glasses were also reportedly available at several Southern Illinois retail establishments, including Farm Fresh Market in Breese, Highland Tru Buy in Highland, Perry County Marketplace in Pinckneyville, Sinclair Foods in Jerseyville, Steelville Marketplace in Steelville and Big John Grocery in Metropolis.
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Health
Switching from cigarettes to vapes linked to higher risk of major eye diseases, large study finds
US cigarette smoking drops to record low, vaping and nicotine pouch use surges
Fox News medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel discusses a New England Journal of Medicine study reporting US adult cigarette smoking rates dropped to a record low of 9.9% in 2024. Siegel warns about the addictive nature of vaping and nicotine pouches, which contain high levels of nicotine. He expresses concern over potential GI tract and heart issues, stressing social media’s role in promoting these products to younger generations.
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Switching from cigarettes to electronic vapes is often seen as a healthier move, but a massive nationwide study published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology suggests that smokeless alternatives could increase the risk of serious eye diseases compared to quitting nicotine altogether.
Researchers from the Korea University College of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea, analyzed health data from a group of 179,273 adults through the Korean National Health Insurance Service, according to a press release.
All participants had smoked traditional cigarettes between 2011 and 2012 and then quit smoking by 2018 or 2019, they reported.
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To ensure a fair comparison, the researchers paired up participants who shared similar backgrounds, including their age, gender, medical history, existing health conditions and general lifestyle habits.
Switching from cigarettes to electronic vapes is often seen as a healthier move, but a large study suggests it could pose a risk to eye health. (iStock)
This process created a balanced group of 32,316 matched participants, who were divided into two categories: complete quitters who stopped using all nicotine products and those who transitioned to smokeless nicotine products, such as vapes.
The researchers followed the participants for an average of 4.6 years to determine whether they developed eye conditions, including cataracts, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and focus-related eyesight disorders.
5 WAYS TO PRESERVE YOUR VISION AS YOU AGE, ACCORDING TO AN OPHTHALMOLOGIST
Over the tracking period, the group experienced a total of 6,328 major eye disease events. People who quit nicotine entirely had the lowest disease rate in the study, at 41.1 cases per 1,000 person-years (a measure that accounts for both the number of people in the study and how long they were followed).
In comparison, that rate rose to 44 cases for individuals who had switched over to smokeless alternatives like vapes.
The people included in the study were divided into two main categories: complete quitters who stopped using all nicotine products, and switchers who transitioned to smokeless tobacco or nicotine products, like vapes. (iStock)
Ultimately, the data showed that switching to alternative nicotine products carried a steady 7% increased risk of serious eye diseases compared to quitting nicotine completely.
FOOD CHOICES THAT CAN BOOST YOUR VISION AND PROTECT AGAINST EYE DISEASE
Most notably, those who switched faced a 24% higher risk of developing diabetic retinopathy, a condition that damages the blood vessels in the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye.
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Additionally, those who ditched cigarettes for vapes had a 7% higher risk of developing refractive and accommodation disorders, which affect the eye’s ability to focus clearly.
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“These findings challenge the assumption that substituting noncombustible nicotine or tobacco products for conventional cigarettes is visually harmless,” the researchers noted.
“These findings challenge the assumption that substituting noncombustible nicotine or tobacco products for conventional cigarettes is visually harmless,” the researchers noted. (iStock)
The authors did point out a few limitations of the research. Because this was a study looking back at health insurance data, it cannot definitively prove that vaping directly causes eye damage.
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Additionally, the study relied on people filling out questionnaires about their own smoking and vaping habits, which can sometimes lead to underreporting or simple memory errors.
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Still, the researchers concluded the findings suggest that replacing cigarettes with alternative nicotine products may not eliminate the risk of certain eye diseases.
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