Solar retinopathy is a well-known clinical phenomena involving retinal damage as a result of viewing the sun. Symptoms typically include photosensitivity, blurred vision, headache and various patterns of scotoma [6]. Eclipse retinopathy, refers to a solar retinopathy resulting from viewing a solar eclipse. Michaelides et al. [7] conducted the largest nationwide study of the visual effects in the United Kingdom following a full solar eclipse in 1999. This study found that 70 individuals reported cases of visual loss following the eclipse, and half of these cases presented within 2 days of the occurrences of the eclipse. Although 84% of these patients had an abnormal macular appearance at presentation, none of the cases experienced continued vision loss after 6 months [7]. In another cohort of 20 patients that became symptomatic from watching this same eclipse, 3 of these patients had an unresolved central scotoma after 7 months, which eventually resolved at 21 months follow up [8]. A central scotoma is particularly challenging for affected patients as central vision is crucial for tasks such as reading, facial recognition, depth perception and driving ability [9,10,11].

Thanos et al. [12] found that albino rats exposed to a partial (90%) solar eclipse resulted in neuronal apoptosis. Dying retinal cells were seen at 24 hours after exposure reaching a peak at 6 days after exposure. This was the first animal study showing the cellular effects of eclipse retinopathy, which includes glio-vascular responses and neuronal apoptosis [12]. Although at the time of writing, there are currently no proven methods to treat solar retinopathy, prevention through patient education to avoid directly looking at solar eclipses is the key to avoid this condition.