Should someone be worried if they saw a half a second of the eclipse?

No. Once in a blue moon your eyes meet the sun, and you’ve always been fine, this isn’t any different. If you don’t notice any loss of sight, like a spot, then it’s not going to suddenly happen an hour from now.

A momentary glimpse is probably safe.
Trump did it on live television, and I didn’t see a bunch of secret service jump on the Sun.

I had the same experience and have been worrying a bit. The eye feels a bit strained but no loss of sight.

Hasn’t anybody but me ever looked directly into the sun when they were a kid? It takes more than a couple of seconds to do permanent damage.

@filmfann That’s cuz the Secret Service ran out of money.

Nah, you’re OK. I’ve actually sunburned my eyeballs after a day on the water racing (shades fell overboard) and my vision recovered fine. A glimpse here and there won’t hurt you.

@Espiritus_Corvus I looked at the sun for a minute to see it move when I was 12. I don’t know what damage it caused. I have tired swollen eyes from time to time.

@Espiritus_Corvus Yes I skipped school for years later when my eyes were sore. Not sure what it was from but I was watching South Park till 1 am on school nights and playing Zelda on NES. I also rubbed my eyes constantly. For what it is worth I didn’t take very good care of my eyes.

@RedDeerGuy1 Nah, don’t worry about it. Like @canidmajor, my eyes were exposed to bright sunlight and glare off the water for years before I began wearing polarized sunglasses in the 1970s. I grew up on the water in Florida. I had perfect 20/20 vision right up to about 55, when I had to get my first pair of reading glasses. Ten years later, I have no sign of cataracts like the old fishermen and golfers did when I was a kid.

It was cloudy off and on today in N Calif during the eclipse. I kept putting on and taking off my eclipse glasses during the whole thing. I got some direct sunlight onto my left eye a few times. It was feeling a bit swollen for a few hours. It feels fine now.

Nothing. I looked at the sun for a moment a couple of times, but it was like looking at the sun! The brilliance obscured everything around it. Same thing back in 93.
We’ve all been temporarily blinded by the sun suddenly and unexpectedly blasting into our eyes. Instinct tells us to avoid that.

No.

@Espiritus_Corvus I have looked right at the sun. I was about 7, at a beach in Florida, floating on a blow up floaty. I stared at the sun intently for a “long” time. I don’t know how long. Maybe a few seconds. Maybe longer.

Within the next year I started going nearsighted. From 4th grade on my prescription changed every 6 months. By high school I had “Coke bottle” glasses. The doctor prescribed contacts and that stopped the astigmatism.
I have wondered, since I was a kid, if staring at the sun caused it. I guess I should ask a doctor.

But then I got lasik surgery in 1999 and I don’t really need glasses now. But I still wear them. They say I’m 20/20 but I see more focused with my glasses on.

Why would any one tell a kid not to look at the sun? Why would it even occur to a kid to look at the sun? We instinctively avoid it.
I did it because I was told not to. It wouldn’t have occurred to me otherwise.

Oh, I would definitely tell a kid not to look directly into the sun, Dutchess. I don’t know how long it takes, but it will burn the retina, the scars of which can lead to cataracts. Stare into it very long, such as the time it takes for a partial eclipse to pass, it can burn out the optic nerve completely. It’s good advice. From my parent’s warnings, I was aware that it could damage my eyes when I did it and that advice probably kept me from staring into it for very long. It’s very good advice.

Am I weird for having accidentally looked at the sun (very, very briefly of course) multiple times before? I mean just the other day I bought a mirror at a thrift shop and I was carrying it to my car and when I turned it a certain way, it reflected the sun right into my face. Of course it’s such a shock that one instantly and instinctively looks away as soon as it happens; it was quite literally a split second. And that kind of thing has happened to me before yet my eyesight remains fine. It happens.

@Dutchess_III My mom used to tell my sister and I not to look at the sun.

A glance is fine, it’s staring for long periods that might pose a problem. I have looked directly at the sun many times, and I haven’t gone blind or suffered any eye injuries. If you do suffer any type of damage, chances are it won’t be permanent.

You’ll be fine. I watched it with the NASA-approved glasses yesterday and accidentally caught a couple of glances when some light came through the sides.

We observed it for several hours on and off over a picnic and while my eyes did feel a little strained for a couple of hours, they were back to normal later in the day.