【NewsBuddy】紫外線燈肇禍 音樂節釀「雪盲症」
【原文】下文摘錄自2023年11月8日香港《文匯報》:
著名非同質化代幣（NFT）巨頭BAYC上周來港舉辦一年一度「無聊猿音樂節」。11月4日活動後，十餘名靠近舞台位置的觀眾，活動後發現眼睛極度疼痛、難以視物，到醫院求醫被診斷為俗稱「雪盲症」的「光害性角膜炎」。
醫管局急症室至11月7日錄得6宗相關個案，所有人情況穩定。有眼科專家向香港文匯報表示，香港不允許使用含紫外線燈具照明，懷疑事件由違規燈具造成，提醒參加音樂會人士如感眼睛劇痛，需立即求醫，「雪盲症」或致視力永久受損。
多名音樂會的參加者近日在社交平台反映眼睛出現毛病。其中，知名加密貨幣分析師Adrian Zdunczyk在社交平台上展示一張「希瑪眼科」的病人收據。他表示，音樂會結束後感到眼睛嚴重灼痛，症狀持續一天多，最後決定求醫，醫生診斷其病情尚可，眼角膜沒有受到嚴重破壞。他引述醫生指，正如不少人攀上珠穆朗瑪峰之後都會患上「雪盲症」，原因是眼角膜和結膜在未受足夠防護下，長期暴露在紫外線之中。他獲處方眼藥水，醫藥費3,000港元，「主辦方不是有心這樣做，類似症狀往往是隨機發生。」
社交平台陸續有逾十名參加者表示眼睛被灼傷，他們大都站在靠近舞台位置。
眼科專科醫生龐朝輝解釋，患者是因為在黑暗的環境中接觸強光，令角膜受損，「當一名患者被照射到強光，可以是紫外光、或者可見光、激光都是可以（導致損傷），通常是很強光線，而且照射量及時間較長，導致角膜表面損傷，眼睛會十分不適、流眼水、刺痛、視力模糊及不想張開眼睛。」
他建議同類活動應避免將射燈的燈光投射到觀眾席，如果無法避免，台下觀眾就應該閉上雙眼，避免直望這類強光。
香港眼科醫學院前院長、眼科醫生周伯展向香港文匯報表示，由觀眾描述症狀，符合「雪盲症」特徵，也即是眼角膜被紫外線灼傷：「眼角膜是人體最嫩器官，含有豐富的神經線，一旦被紫外線灼傷，會非常疼痛。」
他指出，眼角膜被灼傷初期，患者沒有感覺，通常相隔數小時才發作，這時需要立即求醫，用消炎藥水治療。若紫外線能量不高，能慢慢痊癒。若灼傷位置較重要、面積較大，又沒及時求醫，或會造成視力永久受損。
周伯展提醒主辦方立即檢驗燈具是否有紫外線外洩，若有，必須立即停用，或加裝消除紫外線燈罩。政府監管部門亦應加強公眾活動審批和監管，確保使用的燈具符合安全標準。
UV Lights Cause Snow Blindness at Music Festivals
【譯文】The famous Non-Fungible Token (NFT) giant BAYC held its annual "Chatty Ape Music Festival" in Hong Kong last week, and after the event on November 4, more than 10 audience members who were close to the stage found that their eyes were in extreme pain after the event, making it difficult for them to see, and they went to the hospital for medical treatment and were diagnosed with "light-damaging keratitis", commonly known as "snow blindness".
The A&E Department of the Hospital Authority (HA) has recorded six related cases up to November 7, and all of them are in stable condition. An ophthalmologist told Hong Kong Wen Wei Po that the use of ultraviolet lighting is not permitted in Hong Kong, and that the incident was suspected to be caused by unauthorized lighting, reminding concertgoers to seek immediate medical attention if they experience severe eye pain, as "snow blindness" may cause permanent visual impairment.
A number of concert attendees have recently reported eye problems on social media platforms. One of them, Adrian Zdunczyk, a well-known cryptocurrency analyst, showed a patient receipt from Sigma Eye on the social media platform. He said he felt severe burning pain in his eyes after the concert, which lasted for more than a day, and finally decided to seek medical attention, which diagnosed him as being in fair condition, with no serious damage to his corneas. He quoted his doctor as saying that, just as many people suffer from "snow blindness" after climbing Mount Everest, the reason is that the cornea and conjunctiva of the eye are exposed to ultraviolet rays for a long period of time without adequate protection. He was prescribed eye drops at a cost of HK$3,000. "The organizers didn't mean to do this, as similar symptoms tend to occur randomly.
More than a dozen participants on social media have reported burns to their eyes, most of them standing close to the stage.
Ophthalmologist Dr. Pong Chiu Fai Jeffrey explained that the cornea of the patient was damaged due to exposure to strong light in a dark environment. "When a patient is exposed to strong light, either ultraviolet light, visible light or laser light, it is usually a very strong light, and the amount of light and the duration of exposure is relatively long, which results in damage to the corneal surface, and the eyes will be very uncomfortable, watery, stinging, blurred vision, and the desire not to open their eyes," he said.
He suggested that similar events should avoid projecting spotlights onto the auditorium, and if this is unavoidable, the audience should close their eyes to avoid looking directly at such bright light.
Dr. Chow Pak Chin, ophthalmologist and former president of the College of Ophthalmologists of Hong Kong, told Hong Kong Wen Wei Po that the symptoms described by the audience were consistent with the characteristics of "snow blindness", i.e., the cornea of the eye was burned by ultraviolet rays: "The cornea of the eye is the most tender organ of the human body and is rich in nerves, so if it is burned by ultraviolet rays, it will be very painful."
He pointed out that in the early stages of corneal burns, the patient does not feel anything, and it usually takes a few hours for the burns to occur, at which point the patient needs to seek immediate medical treatment with anti-inflammatory medication. If the UV energy is not too high, the burn will heal slowly. If the burns are more significant and large in size, and you do not seek medical attention in time, you may suffer permanent visual impairment.
Mr. Chow reminded the organizers to immediately check whether there is any UV leakage from the lighting fixtures, and if there is, they must stop using them immediately or install UV-cancelling lampshades. Government regulators should also step up the vetting and monitoring of public events to ensure that the lighting fixtures used comply with safety standards.
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