April | 2024

Sunlight entering the eye through the lens and focusing on the retina

According to the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS), solar retinopathy "occurs when intense light energy injures or damages the retina (the inner lining of the back part of the eye)." A cause of solar retinopathy is watching a solar eclipse without proper protection. A new article from Ophthalmology Times discusses diagnosis and treatment of solar retinopathy. The safest way to view a solar eclipse is using ISO 12312-2 certified solar eclipse glasses or a pinhole projector as described below.

The American Astronomical Society issued a recent warning to be aware of fake eclipse glasses and offered tips for making sure you have quality approved solar eclipse glasses for watching the April 8 eclipse.

Remember, it is only safe to view a solar eclipse with your naked eyes during totality, when the light of the sun is completely blocked by the moon. What should you do if you can't find solar eclipse glasses?

A pinhole projector is the safest and most inexpensive way to watch a solar eclipse. This helps you avoid looking directly at the eclipse by using a projected image. Here are simple instructions for this do-it-yourself project:

1. make a pinhole (a thumbtack should make the right sized hole) in a cardboard paper that blocks light except sunlight shining through the pinhole.
2. facing away from the sun, hold the piece of paper so that the light from the sun can shine through the pinhole without obstruction.
3. allow the sunlight shining through the pinhole to project onto a second piece of white paper that will serve as your projection screen (as shown in the image). The piece of cardboard with the pinhole should be about three feet above the piece of paper used as a screen.

Keep in mind NOT to look through the pinhole at the sun.

As more women than men have eye disease and unique vision issues, Prevent Blindness provides free resources including webpages, fact sheets and expert videos to help prevent unnecessary vision loss in women. Women have a higher prevalence of age-related macular degeneration, cataract, dry eye, glaucoma, refractive error and thyroid eye disease.

According to The Lancet Global Health Commission on Global Eye Health: vision beyond 2020 report, the gender imbalance can be attributed to demographic factors (women living longer than men) and social factors (women having reduced access to care).

Prevent Blindness President and CEO Jeff Todd, 2024 Prevent Blindness Person of Vision Award Recipient Ed Buffington, GPN Technologies, Prevent Blindness Board of Directors Chair Jim McGrann, Advancing Eyecare, and Prevent Blindness Person of Vision Award Committee Chair Maureen Cavanagh, celebrate at the Person of Vision Award gala.

Prevent Blindness presented the 2024 Person of Vision Award to Ed Buffington, President and CEO of GPN Technologies, as part of its Person of Vision Gala on March 14, in conjunction with Vision Expo East. Additionally, 20/20 Magazine was recognized for its 50th Anniversary, and Marge Axelrad, Senior VP Editorial Director at Jobson Publishing, was honored with the Louisa Lee Schuyler Award, in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the mission of Prevent Blindness. The event raised a record of more than $350,000 to support the sight-saving programs of Prevent Blindness.

Prevent Blindness will host the 13th annual Focus on Eye Health Summit on July 10-11, 2024, as a FREE virtual interactive event. This year’s theme – “Being Seen and Heard” – emphasizes the importance of a person-centered approach to vision health interventions, research, communications, and care.

Being seen and heard by providers, policy makers, researchers, public health experts and other stakeholders allows an individual’s complex health issues to be addressed while taking into consideration their preferences, cultural background, and social context. And ultimately, it leads to the most ideal outcomes for all involved in the interaction.

PreventBlindness.org