Staring at the sun with the naked eye can cause blindness

Have you ever casually looked up at the sky in broad daylight? Rarely can it be successful because the eyes are already dazzled by the sun that is too hot and bright. But once in a while I tried looking directly at the sun with the naked eye This is what will happen to your eyes if you dare to glare at the sun.

Sunlight dazzled the eyes

As it turns out, reflex squinting or rushing to find shade when lingering in the sun - whether it's "covering" your face with your hands or wearing sunglasses - isn't just because of heat or glare. This is an automatic and instinctive reaction of every human being to avoid direct contact with sunlight as much as possible for his own safety.

Eyes are very sensitive to bright light. The sun is basically the source of massive heat bursts that happen without stopping. Once you decide to look at the sun with the naked eye, sunburn can cause serious and sometimes irreversible eye damage. UV rays are the type of sunlight that can damage the eyes the most, especially when reflected off sand, snow, or water.

What happens to the eye when looking at the sun with the naked eye

Sunlight that falls right on the eye will burn the eyeballs. This process is very similar to how the sun can burn your skin, which you may experience when it's hot outside.

When you look directly at the sun for just a moment, the heat emitted by the UV rays becomes so concentrated in the cornea (the eye's transparent outer layer) that it starts to blister and crack.

Eye damage from exposure to direct sunlight is known as photokeratitis. Symptoms usually appear a few hours after the first exposure and begin with excessive tear production, red and inflamed eyes, then a gritty crampy sensation as if you were rubbing your eyes with sandpaper.

If you dare and hold on to staring at the sun any longer, then you will suffer retina and macular damage. The retina is the tissue at the back of the eye to project images to the brain, which is very sensitive to light.

Condensed ultra-hot light from the sun that penetrates the retina can directly burn and scorch the retina. To make matters worse, the retina doesn't have pain receptors. So you don't know the damage has been done until it's too late.

Linger staring directly at the sun can make blind

This is evidenced by an experiment from Mark Thompson, an astronomer and TV presenter. Reporting from IFL Science, Thompson experimented with a dead pig's eye, which was placed to see sunlight through a telescope for 20 minutes. In that time frame, the sun has burned the corneas of the pigs' eyes.

Pig eyes have similarities to human eyes. Therefore, this experiment is quite representative of the possible impact on your eyes and vision if you really dared to test your guts to glare at the sun.

Retina burns from overexposure to UV rays can cause partial blindness, which is a dark circle in the center of your field of vision. In most cases, this vision loss is temporary. However, it is possible to cause permanent blindness.

Various scientific studies and research from the US space program have even shown that even "small portions" of UV radiation exposure that continues over a period of years can increase your risk of developing cataracts, pterygium and pinguecula.

Protect the eyes when on the move in the sun

Can humans really go blind immediately after seeing the sun? Maybe not always. However, the damage you may experience can be so severe that your eyes will no longer be able to see properly in detail.

There are several things you can do to protect your eye health when you are outdoors, while the weather is hot. Wear a hat with a wide brim or wear sunglasses.

However, an ordinary pair of sunglasses will not adequately protect your eyes from UV rays. You need sunglasses that have a UV protection layer with 100% protection levels. Also make sure there is a UV 400nm label printed on the sunglasses you wear.

What about the color of the lenses? A black lens is probably the best choice. But alternatively, you can choose gray monocle glasses that can reduce brightness and glare. Lens colors with shades of green, dark reddish brown, to reddish pink can also reduce eye fatigue in bright light.