Ive watched te eclipse (solar eclipse ,the bad one,) for about 5 minutes, am i gonna go blind?

Question

I have watched the eclipse for 5 minutes and 4-5 years passed by nothing happened to my eyes except i had glasses and my prescription number increased , now im worried that ill suddenly be blind, any answers? will i go blind?

Answer 1

Ever used a magnifying glass and let the sun shine through it and it burns a leaf or piece of paper?
Basically, that's what you've done by staring that long at the sun, irrespective of the fact it was during a solar eclipse.
The Cornea and the Lens at the front of your eyes have concentrated the suns intense light to the back of the eye where the Retina and Optic Nerve are located.
You've potentially caused some damage that just has not manifested itself yet...similar to an electric cord that has become frayed...at any time it can short out and stop functioning.
If your eyes have deteriorated to the point you now need stronger prescriptions for your glasses, this could be a sign that the nerves in your eyes are slowly dying.
I certainly hope that's not the case however.
I also hope you've discussed this with your Optometrist.

Note: as long as I can remember, going back to childhood, we were warned about the dangers of looking directly into the Sun...did this not get mentioned to you somewhere along the way?

Answer 2

There are x-rays the eye doctor can take of any problems of your eyes. The x-rays photograph what's behind your eyes. There's two other tests he can perfom. The main one is air pressure on the eye. If you have eye problems that could lead to blindness, he will prescribe medicated eye drops for the rest of your life.From the time you are determined you're a suspect for possible blindness, they retest you in 6 months.

Answer 3

If you could still see after the initial look you will probably be ok.
There should not be any long term effects,any damage would have showed up very quickly.

Answer 4

thats what I've always heard, what does your optomitrist say?