Man who went temporarily blind looking directly at solar eclipse left with painful lasting effect

It turns out looking directly at the sun is bad for your eyes, no matter what any solar eclipse 'rawdogger' might say.

Take it from TikTok user Danny Boy, who still suffers from eye sight issues years on from going temporarily blind after staring at an eclipse without any protection.

The United Kingdom was blessed with a historic solar eclipse on Wednesday, August 12, with up to 96% of the sun covered in the most significant eclipse in 27 years.

Demand for certified eclipse glasses, which allow people to look directly at the sun as they block out dangerous rays, went through the roof as health experts made multiple warnings that staring at the sun, even when it's mostly covered, can cause catastrophic damage to the eyes.

'Honestly really scary'

Danny Boy experienced that first hand when he looked at an eclipse without the glasses.

In a video he shared on social media in 2024, Danny displayed the gruesome impact looking at the sun had on his eyes, with one being completely bloodshot and appearing to have burst blood vessels.

"Went temporarily blind by looking at the last solar eclipse," he wrote on the video. "Looked directly into the sun without any protective glasses."

Thankfully, after visiting eye care specialists, he was given eyedrops and patches and was able to recover his sight.

However, even years on, he still experiences problems with his eye sight.

Danny Boy told LADbible: "I did temporarily lose my vision after looking at the eclipse, which was honestly really scary.

"Since then I’ve noticed some vision issues, like floaters and some sensitivity to light."

Things went better for Danny Boy during this week's eclipse, though, as he was able to watch it from an aeroplane.

Woman claims she 'rawdogged' the eclipse

Not everyone is convinced looking at the sun is bad for you.

One Instagram user, Khaos with K, shared a video of her seemingly staring right into the sun as she claimed she 'rawdogged' the eclipse.

"Am I blind? No, I'm not," she said in the clip.

"Am I feeling some sort of high, powerful, energy? Yeah, I am."

In the caption, she even said she thinks the stream of helpful medical advice was instead a needless panic designed to increase demand for the protective glasses.

"Feel like the glasses is just a huge money making scheme," she wrote.

"Everyone has been OBSESSING over getting some yesterday and today, and im abit gutted I didnt think ahead cause that could've been some big bucks. [sic]"

Her post didn't go down well with opticians.

Tina Patel, an optician with Feel Good Contacts, told LADbible: "People claiming they've watched the solar eclipse without any eye protection and got away with it are sharing dangerously misleading advice.

“When somebody tells their friends, family or followers they've watched an eclipse without protection and nothing happened, it can create a false sense of security," she said.

"That's a bit like saying seat belts are unnecessary because you've never been in a car accident.

"The risk is very real, and all it takes is one small look at the sun to cause lasting harm."

While Mfazo Hove, Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon founder of Blue Fin Vision, said: “Raw-dogging the eclipse by looking directly at the Sun without proper protection is one of the worst things you can do for your eyes."