This content is brought to you Dr. Jeffrey D. Horn and the Vision for Life team, https://www.bestvisionforlife.com/, located inside of St. Thomas West- with our address 4230 Harding Pike, Suite G6 – Belle Meade – 37205. Vision for Life is your Nashville ophthalmology practice for advanced cataract care and eye surgery, laser vision correction/LASIK, vision correction and treatment for a variety of eye conditions.
Think for a minute back to your childhood….Did you ever burn a leaf or try to start a fire with a magnifying glass? I know I did! Our eyes are like magnifying glasses and if you stare directly into the sun essentially you are starting a small fire or burning a hole in your retina. The worst part about this fire in your eye is that because the retina has no pain fibers you won’t even feel the damage being done! During this natural phenomenon on August 21st and although this is an amazing, once in a lifetime experience it is not without DANGERS!
HERE ARE THE TOP 5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE ECLIPSE:
- Sunglasses, no matter how dark, will NOT work to protect you during the solar eclipse.
It isn’t that the sun is stronger on this particular day, but when we are in regular sunlight we tend to squint or look away and with the moon moving across the bright sun and creating shadows we will be tempted to stare, and this can cause permanent vision damage. It only takes about 8 seconds before damage or possibly blindness occurs. - Your best bet for looking into the sun is with specially designed eclipse viewing glasses.
These glasses have special filters within the lenses that decrease the amount of light that is actually getting into the eye. You must get glasses that meet the ISO 12312-2 international standards. NASA has a link on their site, https://www.nasa.gov/, to find proper eyewear for the event. You can also buy these special eclipse glasses online and at other retailer’s… just make sure you see the manufacturer information on the glasses somewhere and that they meet the necessary standards….You don’t want to chance your eyesight with shoddy glasses to save few bucks! Vision for Life in Belle Meade has approved glasses for just $2 each – stop in TODAY and get yours! - You can safely look directly into the sun on this day when the moon has totally covered the sun – eclipse totality has been reached.
However, again it is best viewed with the glasses and the moment the moon starts to leave the sun you MUST look away immediately. This totality will only last about a minute and thirty seconds here in Nashville. - It is also important for all of you creative geniuses in the Nashville area to remember that camera lenses, video recorders, telescopes or other optical devices do not safely protect your eyes.
It is not safe to view through the scope of any of these without special filters EVEN when wearing the protective solar glasses! You will need to get advice from an expert in your photographic field before taking these fancy pictures! - Last, but certainly not least, if you are the crafty type you can view the eclipse through a homemade eclipse pinhole projector.
This is a fun way for you to involve your children in the viewing event and protect their eyes safely. Children and young adults face the greatest risk! Here is a link for how to build your very own projector, https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/box-pinhole-projector.html. Have fun!
