PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Eye doctors have been getting an onslaught of calls from people concerned about their vision following yesterday's solar eclipse.
One of the doctors on the receiving end of those calls has been Dr. Sunir Garg at Wills Eye Hospital.
"They looked at the sun for a few moments without the glasses on. And then for a few minutes afterward they noticed their vision was a little bit odd,” he said.
Garg also said there are specific symptoms people should be aware of before calling an optometrist for an appointment.
"When they're looking at fine print like the newspaper or their checkbook or their cell phone,” he said. “They may start seeing that letters are getting distorted. Maybe they’re having trouble distinguishing 3's, 8's and 0's from each other.”
Bathroom tiles and venetian blinds should also look straight. If they start to get wavy, that’s another sign of more serious symptoms.
However, Garg also said that catching a glimpse of the eclipse with the naked eye does not necessarily mean permanent vision problems.
"Even if they looked at the sun a little bit longer than they should have, the body is going to help heal things pretty well for them,” he said.
In the less serious cases, the symptoms should clear up in 48 hours