Don't Be Blindsided: TikTokers Share Eclipse Eye Safety Stories

Today's solar eclipse is exciting for many people in the path of totality because it's not every day that individuals get to experience such an interesting phenomenon.

But there is a big danger to viewing the eclipse if it's not done right, and many TikTokers are sharing their personal stories in the hopes of helping others avoid burning their retinas and going permanently blind.

TikTok creator Ceros shared what happened to his friend after viewing the August 2017 eclipse.

"Please do not look at the eclipse on April 8, 2024; you will go blind. I mean that in the realest sense of the word," he began his warning. "Let me explain something that happened to one of my friends."

He continued to explain that they were both really excited to experience an eclipse and that his friend got "special glasses" from his father to "block out the eclipse rays so you don't get any eye damage."

"Now, I didn't even know you could get eye damage from the eclipse. I didn't know that. That was information I was not privy to," he continued. "Eclipse comes. We're all chilling and we're on top of my roof, and he says, 'Alright, here it comes.' He puts on the glasses and he looks directly at it."

He said his friend didn't feel anything bad, but the next day, he couldn't see out of one eye. He ended up going to the doctor and the doctor told him he had "retinal impairment damage." Ceros concluded his video by sharing that now, seven years later, his friend is still blind in that eye, and reminded everyone to not look "directly at the eclipse, even if you have the special glasses."

See the full video here.

Another TikTok creator shared a similar story of what happened to her after viewing the 2017 eclipse.

"I did look at the solar eclipse 6-and-a-half years ago. I didn't realize or just didn't get the glasses, and I thought it wasn't gonna be a big deal," TikToker Bridge said. "I closed my right eye and I stared at the sun for a good like 15 seconds. Didn't think anything of it, not an issue."

That changed for Bridge the next morning, though. When she woke up and opened her left eye to look at her phone, she couldn't see every other word.

"There was like a blind spot on every other word that I was reading. And I was like okay, that's weird, maybe I haven't woken up, so I woke up, walked around the house, I couldn't see things," she continued. "I researched it: solar retinopathy."

She then decided to drive herself to the eye doctor.

"I actually now have slow 20/20 vision," she revealed. "I have slow 20/20 vision because I stared at the solar eclipse without the glasses for ten seconds."

TikToker Hank Green said, "This might be the most dangerous solar eclipse of all time," in a recently shared video.

"There are two main concerns when it comes to solar eclipses. The first is burning your retinas," he said. "And if there are more people in the parts of the eclipse where you can look at the eclipse and think, this isn't hurting my eyes very bad, but there is still sunlight, I probably can do this without a problem. You're just gonna have more people burning their retinas."

He then explained what happens during an eclipse before totality or in a place that doesn't have totality.

"The sun's gonna get dimmer. It's gonna get cool outside, and it's gonna be easier to look at the sun," he continued. "You're gonna feel like maybe you could even look at the sun to enjoy the solar eclipse. Don't do this. Every time there's a solar eclipse, there's a bunch of people who burn their retinas by looking at the sun."

Green then shared what he feels could be another danger. Because the path of totality for this eclipse is within driving distance for 200 million people, there will be a lot of extra people on the roads which can lead to more accidents.

Lance Bass also took to TikTok to remind everyone that eclipse glasses are necessary.

"Hi eclipse enthusiasts, Lance Bass here, and I wanna tell you how to protect those eyes and stay safe during a solar eclipse," he began his video.

"During these celestial events, the sun, earth, and moon are in sync, creating solar eclipses. You can look directly at the sun during a total solar eclipse but only when it's completely covered by the moon for a brief period known as totality."

Bass reminded everyone that at all other times during the eclipse, special glasses need to be worn, "so that you don't say bye bye bye to your vision."

He also doesn't want anyone to confuse eclipse glasses with regular sunglasses, reminding everyone that "safe solar viewers are thousands of times darker."

If you don't have a pair of special ISO eclipse glasses, Bass has a solution.

"You can use an indirect viewing method like a pinhole projector. You can make one of these with something as simple as an index card with a hole, or a colander, or even your hands," he shared. "With the sun at your back, you can safely project an image of the sun through the hole onto a nearby surface, like the ground."

The fun and informative video had *NSYNC fans sharing comments.

"Director: how many *NSYNC references can we get in this? Lance: yes," one person joked.

Another added, "I'm living for these *NSYNC puns, but got my glasses for me as well as for my phone lens for pics!"