NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — It only lasted a few minutes, but if you looked at the eclipse without proper protection, the harm to your eyes may last forever.

“Once the damage is done, the damage is done,” said Ophthalmologist Dr. Walter Whitley, with Virginia Eye Consultants.

Whitley and the staff at Virginia Eye Consultants are prepared for a potential surge of post-eclipse patients.

“For the next day or the next several weeks, if you notice, decreased vision, blurred vision, distortions in your vision changes in color, that’s the time where you should call your eye doctor,” he said.

Looking at the eclipse, or looking at the sun on any day for that matter, can cause solar rentinopathy. That’s when the sun’s damaging rays injure your retina. It can happen in just a few seconds.

“Some people, it can leave a permanent a blind spot and that’s the biggest concern,” Whitley said.

He explained there is no treatment or cure, though sometimes vision does get better.

“The main thing is if you have the distortion, if you have the blurred vision, make sure you see your eye doctor,” Whitley said.

An eye doctor can determine if it really was the sun or something else that caused the damage and help you take every precaution to protect your eyes and preserve your vision for the future.