At least 140 telephone calls have been made to the Royal Eye and Ear Hospital in Dublin since the eclipse, and about 40 people have attended the casualty department fearing they may have damaged their eyesight watching the event. Despite numerous warnings many people did look directly at the sun.
The Eye and Ear Hospital received about 100 telephone calls yesterday from people who were nervous after looking at the eclipse. Generally, they had no need to worry and just needed to be reassured.
In general casualty yesterday, 30 to 40 worried people were attended to. One of the doctors at the hospital was assigned solely to carrying out further evaluation.
Of those seen in casualty, 15 needed to go to him. Five of those patients had some degree of damage, not necessarily severe, and were being treated.
On Wednesday, the day of the eclipse, 40 people phoned and at least five were examined.
Prof Louis Collum, president of the College of Ophthalmologists and a consultant at the hospital, said the telephone calls on Wednesday and yesterday were from people who were very worried because they felt they had not followed the rules when looking at the eclipse, or had other symptoms such as headaches.
"Our advice to anybody who feels worried that they might have damaged their eyesight is to go to their GP who will refer them to an eye specialist if necessary, or people should go to the casualty department of any hospital," Prof Collum said.
He considered the peak had probably been reached yesterday or would be today. However, he said, there were certain things to look out for: if there was a burning sensation in the eye at the time of the eclipse, if that was persisting, if colour perception had altered, or if there was a change in vision such as a blur, not at the edge of vision but the centre.
At Galway University College Hospital, two patients were seen in casualty on Wednesday and two yesterday complaining of a dazzling sensation in their eyes. The ophthalmic unit received six phone calls on Wednesday and two yesterday from patients who had watering or stinging eyes.
They were advised to attend their GP.
Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, reported receiving quite a few phone calls from people nervous about their sight.
The south and other parts of the country fared better, perhaps because of heavy cloud at the time of the eclipse. A spokeswoman in the eye unit in Waterford General Hospital said that there had been a few inquiries. At the Cork University Hospital, Wilton, and at the Limerick Regional there were no problems. One person was seen in casualty at Tralee General.
In Britain, more than 400 worried people have called London's Moorfields Eye Hospital since the eclipse, reporting headaches, blurred vision and other problems, and 40 people have attended the hospital's casualty department.
Other clinics were set up across Britain, including Bristol, Birmingham and Kent. Hospitals around the country and NHS Direct, the advice line, have also received hundreds of calls about eclipse-related problems.
More than 90 people telephoned a helpline set up by the Bristol Eye Hospital and a special 24-hour clinic has been set up to assess patients. About 40 people have also been booked into a special "eclipse clinic" at Birmingham and Midland Eye Centre after phoning it.
In Germany, a young man from Berlin was admitted to hospital with serious eye damage after watching the eclipse on Wednesday for several minutes without protective glasses. Similar incidents were also reported elsewhere in Germany.