Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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Why are most people not blind or have very badly damaged vision since we all go outside and occasionally see the sun, glance over it, drive in its direction, and see the sunlight it produces? (self.Blind)
submitted 5.318791055812757y ago by [deleted]
[removed]
narfarnst 4 points 5y ago
The short answer is evolution.
We've evolved as a species to be able to handle expose to sunlight. Those that didn't adapt couldn't see as well and died out.
A few other things to note are that when we do 'look at' the sun, it's very brief (a second or less). If you walk outside and just stare at it for 30 seconds bad things will definitely happen. As for driving in its direction, the glass windshield blocks the UV rays which are the most damaging.
We've evolved as a species to be able to handle expose to sunlight. Those that didn't adapt couldn't see as well and died out.
A few other things to note are that when we do 'look at' the sun, it's very brief (a second or less). If you walk outside and just stare at it for 30 seconds bad things will definitely happen. As for driving in its direction, the glass windshield blocks the UV rays which are the most damaging.
KillerLag 1 points 5y ago
As an add-on in regards to evolution, your genes get passed on earlier in your life. For many genetic conditions that show up later in life, they have already been passed on before the genetic conditions killed the person.
[deleted] [OP] 0 points 5y ago
So I am just worried about solar retinopathy , so I don’t go outside. Unless it’s night time that is
KillerLag 1 points 5y ago
Solar retinopathy usually occurs when someone stares at the sun for an extended period of time. Most humans don't get it because staring at the sun usually hurts a lot.
If anything, you are much more likely to get cataracts or macular degeneration from UV damage over time.
If anything, you are much more likely to get cataracts or macular degeneration from UV damage over time.
[deleted] [OP] 1 points 5y ago
It hurts?
Amonwilde 1 points 5y ago
Probably not a grounded fear. Don't look into the sun for sustained periods of time and you will be fine. Enjoy the spring weather, assuming you're in the northern hemisphere. And, frankly, you'd probably be better off damaging your eyes then to never go outside during the day. If you're concerned, buy a pair of decent sunglasses.
dmazzoni 1 points 5y ago
Why not wear good sunglasses?
Snessrek 1 points 5y ago
So basically, the light the sun emits has a few effects that contribute to retinopathy.
UV scrambles DNA in your cellos, which can lead to mutations, this could cause cell death, cancer, all sorts. Our body has an intrinsic ability to correct these mutations but it is not 100% accurate, which is why if you get too much sun exposure you're more likely to develop skin cancer.
Some people are just genetically more predisposed to sensitivity in photoreceptors. This means that staring at the sun, which emits a lot of concentrated radiation, focused on your retina, can cause a metabolic overload in the cells that are basically working too hard to try and convey to your brain "whoa there is a lot of light here". If you keep staring at the sun, the cells tire out and if you have particular genetics this can cause buildup of reactive oxygen species and other molecules which are harmful to cells, causing them to die, if they cannot be removed quickly enough. Unfortunately the retina doesn't have a great deal of regenerative capacity so once enough photoreceptors die you start to lose vision.
The short answer is, you're probably fine, polarised UV-blocking sunglasses will give you the best protection, and most fldamage is done by looking at the sun for an extended period :)
UV scrambles DNA in your cellos, which can lead to mutations, this could cause cell death, cancer, all sorts. Our body has an intrinsic ability to correct these mutations but it is not 100% accurate, which is why if you get too much sun exposure you're more likely to develop skin cancer.
Some people are just genetically more predisposed to sensitivity in photoreceptors. This means that staring at the sun, which emits a lot of concentrated radiation, focused on your retina, can cause a metabolic overload in the cells that are basically working too hard to try and convey to your brain "whoa there is a lot of light here". If you keep staring at the sun, the cells tire out and if you have particular genetics this can cause buildup of reactive oxygen species and other molecules which are harmful to cells, causing them to die, if they cannot be removed quickly enough. Unfortunately the retina doesn't have a great deal of regenerative capacity so once enough photoreceptors die you start to lose vision.
The short answer is, you're probably fine, polarised UV-blocking sunglasses will give you the best protection, and most fldamage is done by looking at the sun for an extended period :)
[deleted] [OP] 1 points 5y ago
What about occasional glances like when driving or walking around?
Snessrek 1 points 5y ago
Like i wouldn't say it's good, and maybe that sort of thing will accumulate in its effects as you age, which will vary a lot from person to person because of genetics, but the occasional glance should be fine. That's sort of how evolution works, if glances blinded you, a monkey or whatever we evolved from wouldn't know not to look, so there would be a lot of blind monkeys = low reproductive success = over millions of years the genetics that gave more resistance to sunlight would spread throughout the population that would eventually give rise to us... Does that make sense? I'm only a student so I'm still working on the whole explaining things skill haha
SWaspMale 1 points 5y ago
Water-cooled retinas?
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