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'My Eyes Feel Funny': Google Searches for Symptoms Spike After Eclipse

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Shortly after the celestial event, Google searches for terms such as "solar eclipse headache," "eyes hurt" and "seeing spots" all increased, according to Mashable.

Google searches for the term "eyes feel funny" also soared after the eclipse.

Google searchers for the term "eyes feel funny" soared after the solar eclipse on Monday Aug. 21. Above, a sreengrab of Google Trends data. (Image credit: Google Trends)

Fortunately, experts say that if your eyes felt a little strange after the eclipse, it's not necessarily a reason to worry. It could be that you have dry eyes from keeping your eyes open too long, according to Dr. Vincent Jerome Giovinazzo, director of ophthalmology at Staten Island University Hospital in New York City. Giovinazzo told Live Science that he has already seen several patients who said their eyes felt funny after watching Monday's eclipse, and they all had dry eyes.

If you did damage your eyes from looking at the eclipse, it would not be something you would feel. Rather, it would be something you would see. Symptoms of "solar retinopathy" — or damage to the eye's retina that can occur from looking at the sun — are visual. (The retinas have no nerve fibers, so you cannot feel damage in this area.) These symptoms include blurriness or blind spots in your vision, or a dark or dim spot in your central vision.

Original article on Live Science.

Rachael Rettner
Rachael Rettner
Contributor

Rachael is a Live Science contributor, and was a former channel editor and senior writer for Live Science between 2010 and 2022. She has a master's degree in journalism from New York University's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program. She also holds a B.S. in molecular biology and an M.S. in biology from the University of California, San Diego. Her work has appeared in Scienceline, The Washington Post and Scientific American.