Public health warnings about the dangers of looking at the sun with unprotected eyes during the solar eclipse earlier this month seem to have been heeded by most British viewers. Several thousand people rang helplines or attended special eclipse clinics after experiencing the event, but the number of cases of solar retinopathy reported by eye hospitals and units was lower than was widely feared. Almost a week after the eclipse, on 11 August, the BMJ has learned of at least 14 confirmed cases during inquiries to leading eye centres.

On Monday 16 August, Moorfields Eye Hospital in London reported six confirmed cases. Other totals were as follows: Birmingham Eye Hospital (five), Derbyshire Royal Infirmary's eye unit (three), and Bristol Eye Hospital (one suspected case). No confirmed cases were reported in any of the specialist …