Yehia Hashad, MD, of Bausch + Lomb on patient safety for viewing the solar eclipse

Yehia Hashad, executive vice president, research and development, and Chief Medical Officer at Bausch + Lomb sat down with David Hutton of Ophthalmology Times to talk about the upcoming solar eclipse and what ophthalmologists can do to promote safe viewing of the event for their patients.

Video Transcript

Editor's note - This transcript has been edited for clarity.

David Hutton:

I'm David Hutton of Ophthalmology Times. On April 8th, a solar eclipse will make its way across the United States. It is once in a lifetime event for many people, and the rare occurrence has enthralled humans since the dawn of time. An estimated 44 million people live inside the 115 mile path of totality when the eclipse passes over the country.

Joining me today to discuss it clip safety viewing is Dr. Yehia Hashad, executive vice president, research and development, and Chief Medical Officer [at] Bausch + Lomb. First, what are some of the key points to know about safe eclipse viewing?

Yehia Hashad, MD:

David, thank you very much for this. I think as you mentioned, the upcoming eclipse is a very interesting one. Because primarily it could be once in a lifetime experience. The one that we will witness again, wil be coming in two decades from now. So that's why many people may be interested in this. But it's very important that we realize some of the safety measures we need to have in order to protect one of the most precious senses we have, which is eyesight.

So one, the easiest one, is don't look at the eclipse directly. Or even when it's in the partial eclipse. Two, if you're interested in looking at it, you need to use the right measure. And the right measure here is the right protective, eclipse glasses. Or sometimes the handheld eclipse equipment that is provided specifically for seeing the eclipse. It's very important to use this because they are usually certified for this type of viewing. And the certification comes based on certain criteria that needs to be taken into this. Remember, we cannot use even sunglasses, when we look at the eclipse. Even some people ask if we can use double sunglasses. None of these are specialized or designed to see the eclipse and only those that have the specific filters that meet these criteria that we are speaking about.

The third point we would like to mention as well, is we need to inspect these. If you have it from the prior eclipse that happened in 2017, you need to inspect them before use because if they are scratched, if they are torn, or if there is any damage, you should discard them and not use them. It's also important that we remember that we never use any of the telescopes or any of the camera, the use of even iPhone cameras, or binoculars, because this even could add to the damage. They could concentrate the amount of bad energy coming or the ultraviolet rays or infrared rays that is coming and could harm the retina. And that's why we highly recommend not using any of these even with the use of the protective eclipse glasses.

If you're wearing normal glasses, you should wear your eclipse safety glasses upon them. And make sure if you are going to look to the eclipse, don't look at it and wear the glasses you need to wear the glasses first and then look at the eclipse. And same you look the other side and take it off. You shouldn't be looking at the eclipse, whether the full sun or partial eclipse at any time with the naked eye.

David Hutton:

What can ophthalmologists and eye care professionals do to help educate the public on proper safety measures, many of which you've just gone into detail.

Yehia Hashad, MD:

Yeah, so obviously we mentioned the areas that we should be looking at. I would like to mention also that ophthalmologists need to educate people about 2 other things. One, there are some people at a higher risk than others. So there is a risk population with children in particular because sometimes you cannot control them.

There is another population, those that have undergone cataract surgery and they could have IOLs, that could not be protective. So these are also could be of a higher risk. Also patients with dementia or was Alzheimer's, we need to protect them because sometimes they could forget and just stare at the sun or something like this without noticing. So we should be protecting all these vulnerable populations. They need special precautions in particular.

The second thing also I would like is I would like to speak a little bit about the alarming or the alarming signs or symptoms that could be happening that if you have them you need to seek immediately an ophthalmologist or a retina specialist or an optometrist in order to make sure that no harm happens after the eclipse. These are, if you feel after the eclipse and you were part of viewing the eclipse, this could happen in one or two days after, if you feel at any time that there is visual disturbance, even if associated with headache, if there are scotomas, which are like dark black spots in the field of vision, or if you have any type of the you don't see the colors the same way you used to see them. Or if you see any, what we call metamorphopsia, or irregularities in straight lines.

These are all alarming signs. If you're part of viewing the eclipse, and you witness that within 2 days or 3 days after the eclipse, you should seek immediately the opinion of a specialist.

David Hutton:

You kind of alluded to this previously, but are patients with pre-existing conditions, including the ones you mentioned, and others like macular degeneration, or retinal disorders at an increased risk of exasperating their conditions.

Yehia Hashad, MD:

I think the solar damage, or what we call solar retinopathy is an isolated case that comes usually from the infrared or the ultraviolet rays that comes from the sun directly and it causes damage to the macula. Which some of these diseases already have their macula being affected, like age-related macular degeneration. I think if they stare at the sun, or the eclipse for too long, it could add to the damage. But generally speaking, we are also worried about those that do not have the disease because it could be seconds for some damage that could happen. The age-related macular degeneration type of diseases have been developed over so many years. But this is an acute incident to the macular area. And that's why it could be causing also an additional incidents to what is already existing, or if the retina was completely healthy, it could cause damage as well.

David Hutton:

And lastly, after the eclipse, what can ophthalmologist do to play a role by suggesting regular eye exams for individuals who may have been exposed to the sun without adequate protection, or other issues?

Yehia Hashad, MD:

Yeah, it's always recommended that if you feel that you missed the protection, you stared at the sun light for even few seconds or a minute. And even if you don't have symptoms, I would highly recommend just that you go for a regular checkup with ophthalmologist or the retina specialist. Have a look on the eye and the macular area and the retinal area. Because sometimes they could be very trivial type of even the scotomas could be very small that people with both eyes don't realize it and could be affecting only one eye. So that's why it's important that I emphasize also on having a checkup, if at any time you are exposed to the partial eclipse or to the direct sun light during the eclipse.

David Hutton:

Are there any other areas of eclipse safety, maybe that we haven't addressed yet here today?

Yehia Hashad, MD:

I think I think we addressed majority of them. Again, obviously it's a very interesting phenomena. It's a very inspiring phenomena. We are actually encouraging people to see it. It could be as I mentioned, very, very interesting. But at the same time, please please, please. Prevention. Prevention is the mainstay of treatment because there is no specific treatments if solar retinopathy or if damage happened to the retina. So it's prevention. Prevention. Prevention.