Several attendees who stood on stage with Donald Trump at a Tucson rally suffered temporary blindness and severe pain afterwards
Justin Sullivan/Getty
Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Tucson, Ariz.
-
Several people who stood on stage with Donald Trump at his Tucson, Ariz., rally reported eye injuries after the event, saying they suffered pain and temporary blindness
-
Although he said he’d really need to examine the patients to be sure, Dr. Jules Winokur, residency program director and vice chair of ophthalmology for Northwell Health, told PEOPLE their injuries could have resulted from inadvertent chemical exposure or UV light toxicity
-
He said either could explain the painful, but temporary, symptoms
Several attendees who stood on stage with Donald Trump at a recent rally in Tucson, Ariz., reported significant eye injuries following the Sept. 12 event, saying they had burning pain and temporary blindness immediately afterward.
Some attendees who sat on the left of the stage sought medical care afterward, NBC affiliate KVOA-TV reported.
“I can’t see anything when I try to open my eyes. I see a bright light. It hurts, it hurts a lot to open my eyes. I have this cold cloth I put on and take off constantly. It’s horrible,” Mayra Rodriguez told the outlet.
Justin Sullivan/Getty
Attendees who stood to Donald Trump’s right at his Tucson rally reported eye pain following the event.
Related: Far-Right Conspiracy Theorist Laura Loomer Denies Rumors of Affair with Donald Trump
Other reported symptoms were flushed faces and runny noses — but everyone experienced the same, painful eye symptoms.
What could have caused this temporary — but painful — condition?
Dr. Jules Winokur, residency program director and vice chair of ophthalmology for Northwell Health, tells PEOPLE that the symptoms point to either inadvertent chemical exposure, or UV light toxicity.
“There’s no way I could know, based on the reports, what’s going on,” cautioned Winokur, who added, “We need to examine people to see what’s going on.”
But since the symptoms, while painful, were temporary, he theorized that “there may have been a chemical, because that can irritate the eye.”
The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!
“Alcohol-based products are often used in cleaning and alcohol is somewhat toxic to the eye. There may have been cleaning products that were used heavily in that area [that] then transferred to their hands, and they rubbed their eyes and introduced something.”
“Really hard to say, but it could have been some sort of chemical exposure,” Winokur told PEOPLE. And chemical exposure, he said, “Goes away, it gets better, and people heal.”
“The other possibility is something called UV toxicity,” which, he explains, is a condition that occurs when too much ultraviolet exposure causes inflammation on the surface of the eye—a potential hazard if UV lights were used at the venue.
Getty (2)
Stock image of a bright UV light; Stock image of a bucket of cleaning supplies.
Related: Suspect in Donald Trump Alleged Assassination Attempt Now Charged: What to Know About Accused Man
It’s colloquially known as “snow blindness,” Winokur explained. “The sunlight reflects off the snow and if you’re not wearing any kind of UV protection, you’re getting an overload of UV. And that actually causes significant pain and discomfort.”
He compared it to the pain welders can experience if they don’t wear a protective UV mask.
“If they’re welding without it, they often experience severe pain, with vision problems [and their] eyes running.”
As for suggestions that it could have been a chemical exposure from the air vents, Winokur said that the small, concentrated group of attendees doesn’t support that theory.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“These were clustered in a certain section — it wasn’t like everyone in the arena had something,” he said. “It just doesn’t make a lot of sense that one vent was toxic and just happened to blow air on just these people.”
As Winokur explained, “The air handling is so large and so big,” in places like the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall, which has a capacity of more than 2000 people.
A third possibility could have been someone shining a laser pointer at the attendees, which he said “could actually burn the inside of your eye.” But he added, “that would cause a permanent vision loss” — and the attendees have reported their symptoms are improving.
“The fact that they’re getting better is an excellent sign,” he said. “Hopefully they’ll make a full recovery.”
For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!
Read the original article on People.
