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Fifty people in India damage retinas looking for solar Virgin Mary
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Phtoto Credit: Dylan Otto Krider
This is an odd one. According to Don Sebastian on DNA, nearly 50 people in Kottayam, India have lost thier sight after staring at the sun for a vision of the Virgin Mary. According to the story, things have gotten so bad, health officials have put up a sign debunking the idea that a vision of Mary reveals itself to believers who stare at the sun.
The story quotes Dr Annamma James Isaac, and St Joseph's ENT an ophthalmologist at the Eye Hospital in Kanjirappally, as saying they have nearly 50 cases of photochemical burns. "All our patients have similar history and symptoms. The damage is to the macula, the most sensitive part of retina. They have developed photochemical, not thermal, burns after continuously gazing at the sun."
All this apparently started when a hotelier, who has since moved, claimed statues of the Virgin Mother had been crying honey and bleeding oil and perfumes.
What's strange about this story is that staring at the sun is not quite the guarantee of blindness as it's commonly thought to be. Coming in at number one of Bad Astronomer Phil Plait's list of Ten Things You Don't Know About the Sun", is "You won't go blind looking at it. Probably": "To be clear: no one has ever been permanently and totally blinded by looking at the Sun... You can hurt your eyes, but the damage is usually not total, and a lot of it heals (though not always completely)."
Plait, the damage is minor and usually heals, though some damage can be permanent, it is usually relatively minor. (Looking at the sun through binoculars or a telescope, on the other hand -- you'll fry your retina like an ant with a magnifying glass.)
At the end of the story, Dr. James Isaac is quoted as saying, "Most patients may hopefully improve their vision. But there may be long-term effects on the retina," which seems to be in line with Plait's description. The story, on the other hand, seems to suggest total and permanent blindness, which could be the result of the reporter overstating things.
We have no idea what "photochemical burns" are, but according to the Google, it looks like it's typically caused by UV light.
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