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Emergency services in the Region of Murcia treated 32 people for eye problems linked to Wednesday's solar eclipse, although none of the cases was serious enough to require hospital admission or surgery.

 

The patients were treated between 7pm on Wednesday August 12 and 9am on Thursday August 13, according to the Regional Ministry of Health.

 

Of those treated, 27 were seen in hospital emergency departments, while the other five received treatment at Primary Care Emergency Services.

 

Health authorities had prepared for the possibility of people suffering eye injuries after looking directly at the Sun without adequate protection. All 49 fixed 061 emergency call centres were placed on alert, along with three additional coastal stations operating as part of the Region's summer emergency plan.

 

The main concern following direct exposure to the Sun is solar retinopathy, which occurs when solar radiation damages the retina, particularly the macula. This is the part of the retina responsible for central vision.

 

One of the reasons solar retinopathy can be particularly dangerous is that the damage doesn't necessarily hurt when it happens. Ophthalmologist Alfredo García Layana, president of the Spanish Society of Retina and Vitreous, explained to Europa Press that the retina doesn't have pain receptors, meaning someone can injure their eyes without immediately realising anything is wrong.

 

Symptoms can appear several hours after exposure and can include blurred vision, distorted images, changes in colour perception, increased sensitivity to light, difficulty reading and dark spots appearing in the field of vision.

 

Some symptoms can take days to appear, so anyone who develops unusual changes to their vision after watching the eclipse is advised to seek medical attention.

 

For the vast majority of people, however, the event passed without problems, with viewers following basic safety advice and using certified eclipse glasses when looking directly at the Sun.

 

The eclipse also kept emergency and public safety services busy across the Region, although there were no major incidents.

 

 

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