Nov. 25, 2020, 6:01 PM EST
By Linda Carroll
People trying to kill the coronavirus with ultraviolet C germicidal lamps may risk painful eye injuries if they aren't careful, a recent study finds.
Florida researchers report at least seven cases of patients with UVC damage to the cornea, the eye's outer layer, that left them with burning sensations and sensitivity to light after they used the lamps, according to a report published in Ocular Immunology and Inflammation.
"The clear part of the surface of the eye happens to be very susceptible to the wavelength of the light from these lamps," said Dr. Jesse Sengillo, an ophthalmologist at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute of the University of Miami Health System.
The eye damage is "like a sunburn to the cornea," Sengillo said. "It's quite painful, and it takes a couple of days to heal. People often have trouble opening their eyes because they are sensitive to light and their eyes are red and itchy. One patient said, 'My eyes are on fire.'"
The burning sensation doesn't occur immediately, so some of the patients didn't realize they had damaged their eyes using UVC lamps hours earlier.
People who want to use the lamps should turn them on and then leave the room until it's time to turn them off, Sengillo said.
Sengillo suggests that anyone who has eye pain after having used the germicidal lamps see a doctor for ointments to ease the burning sensation and to get antibiotics, because such injuries are susceptible to infection.
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It's also possible that people might be somewhere that has a UVC lamp and not realize that it could hurt their eyes, Dhaliwal said. "If you enter a room and see a funny-looking light, don't look directly at it, and use eye protection."
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