Millions of people have just watched the historic solar eclipse, the first to be visible from the Iberian Peninsula since 1912, and it is possible that some people may have accidentally looked at the Sun without adequate protection.
Should you be worried if your eyes sting after the eclipse? And what if a small spot appears in the centre of your vision? Specialists warn that not all symptoms have the same significance and that the signs of a serious injury may not appear immediately.
"There are two things we need to distinguish," explains Dr Laura Sararols to 'Euronews', head of the Retina Unit at Hospital General de Granollers and head of service at OMIQ in Hospital Universitari General de Catalunya.
On the one hand, spending a long time staring at the eclipse, even when using protective glasses correctly, can mean we blink less and cause dry eyes, a sensation of grit or a foreign body in the eye and other temporary discomfort.
"This is of no importance whatsoever", Sararols says reassuringly. It is a phenomenon similar to what can occur after spending many hours focused on a screen and, she explains, it usually disappears within a few hours and can be relieved with artificial tears.
