THE TREKKERS’ CURSE – snow blindness

I still remember that day like it just happened yesterday. I was on an expedition in 2011 with Umair and Shoaib, my trekking companions and otherwise our athletes for quality and design assurance at Altimate Outdoors – About Us Page will let you know more about them. While we were excited to have crossed the pass in unfavorable weather and celebrated our achievement, we were unaware of what was to come next?

Somewhere while we were still on the snow line descending towards Hispar Valley, we took a break and laid on the snow for a while. By then, the sun showed up and we were much relieved in expectation of clear weather down ahead. Shoaib took off his sunglasses, lit a smoke and enjoyed those five minutes in his own way. That was it, we descended and camped in the valley.

We woke up in the morning with a situation. Shoiab couldn’t open his eyes. They were all swollen and red. It was not just him, but another of our team member was facing the same condition. Any physical injury could have been handled but if you cannot open your eyes and can’t see your path, is a different story. Our departure was delayed by a few hours to see, if they can be healed naturally. But nothing happened. Given the ration and budget constraints for adding more trekking days along with reaching out to nearest possible medical facility, all forced the team to leave.

How the two members managed to trek after that is a different story, but what we experienced as team members and how the victims of this severe medical condition coped in no man’s land, is something every trekker must avoid. 

SNOW BLINDNESS OR SAND MAN’S EYE

So what actually happened with the two team members was, they were hit by a condition called “Snow Blindness”. While the term is known by many other names like Welder’s Flash, Sand Man’s Eye and Bake Eye; the most common one is Snow Blindness. 

It is an essentially painful eye condition that is caused by exposing eyes to Ultra Violet rays from either natural e.g. sunlight or artificial e.g. welding flash or electric arc. When too much of UV light hits the transparent outer layer of the eyes called Cornea, it gives the Cornea a sunburn. The symptoms may not show before at least several hours after which sever pain along with swollen eyes start to appear akin with having sand in the eyes.

And that is what exactly happened to our team mates during the expedition. They took off their glasses at a time when the sun was completely exposed and reflecting 80% of the UV rays in the surroundings. Their Corneas were sun burned and the symptoms appeared overnight. 

symptoms 

The Snow Blindness symptoms can be disorienting and includes severe pain in the eyes, headache, blurred vision or temporary loss of vision. Sometimes some or all of these symptoms are accompanied by mild to high fever with body aches. 

treatment and care

The condition is treatable however, it must be understood that it requires at least 24 hours of rest. Not everybody has the will power and commitment to over-shadow such severe condition and carry on with the expedition like Shoaib. The victim needs to rest his/ her eyes and away from UV sources. In a trekking environment, it is good to take rest in the tent and not exposing eyes to light.

In our situation, one of our local accomplice and expedition guide would make us a good tea. After which he would place the tea leaves on a dough and put that on the victim’s eyes. According to the victims, that would give them a soothing feeling and relief the pain for at least a few hours. However, this condition heals naturally within 24 hours as I mentioned earlier. Any medication or treatment till this time is a temporary relief. Similarly, rubbing eyes during acute snow blindness is not recommended as the condition can be easily aggravated by this.

What can be done during this time is to:

• Use cold compress to relief burning or painful eyes
• Stay indoors, preferably in a tent and away from any UV source in the surrounding
• Use eye ointments to keep the Cornea moisturized
• Use pain relief medications

 way forward

However, if the condition still prevails with no improvement, there is no choice but to advance towards destination or move back to base camp. What needs to done is to spare a local accomplice or porter dedicated to the victim. He must lead while the victim will place a hand on his shoulder while on the move. It is essential that both the members are roped up and the lead member be extra vigilant by feeling any unusual movement of the following victim. Similarly, it is important to give an orientation to the leading member to adapt to the walking pace of the victim and give him at least a 3 minutes rest every half hour.

PREVENTION

The only way to avoid having Snow Blindness, especially in an expedition environment that involves an altitude of 14000 feet or more, is to keep your eyes protected all the times. Sunglasses or contact lenses are the best preventive measures here.

I would highly recommend to those who plan for an expedition that involves UV environment at any given stage of the expedition, to take at least two pairs sunglasses. A good quality of sunglasses here would be those specified as UV protected. Any dark shades may well do the job, but a few extra bucks ensures your confidence, safety and leisure in a hostile environment. I recommend two pair of sunglasses because I have a tendency to loose or break sunglasses in almost every expedition that I go on. So it has become a personal norm to have at least two pairs of sunglasses. Sometimes, you may not need them at all, but may be your team member does. And there is nothing better than helping out a friend in need!