Derek Ramsay feared losing his eyesight due to UV light exposure
Derek Ramsay was recently rushed to the hospital after suffering extreme pain in his eyes after looking straight into UV light.
Derek Ramsay and Andrea Torres share his terrifying experience on Mars Pa More
UV lights or UVC lamps are some of the disinfecting tools that people use on objects and their surroundings, in order to prevent the further spread of COVID-19.
Kapuso actor Derek Ramsay owns one and tried to fix it when he saw it flicker.
Unfortunately, he forgot the number one rule when handling UV lights: never look at it directly!
He and his girlfriend, Andrea Torres, recounted his traumatic experience during their recent guest appearance on Mars Pa More.
“Nakikita kong nagfli-flicker siya, so inayos ko. Ang ginawa ko tiningnan ko. [laughs] So, mga alas-siete ng gabi 'to.
“Nanood pa kami ng Netflix, nag-dinner pa kami, everything. And then, mga 2 a.m. hindi ko na maidilat yung mata ko. Talagang they were burning.
“I went to the bathroom, naghugas ako ng mata [and] it got worse. It got worse and worse.
"So, napilitan na kong gisingin si Andrea [and said], 'Itakbo niyo na ko sa ospital'.
Andrea tried to use eye drops on Derek's eyes, thinking the pain was just due to dry eyes. However, when she did so, Derek started screaming in pain.
Andrea said, “Doon ako nag-panic kasi yung eye drops na binigay ko wala naman siyang anything. Hindi siya yung maanghang.
“Pag-try ko sa sarili ko tapos wala akong na-feel, as in parang tubig lang. E, syumigaw siya. Ayun, tinakbo ko na sa ospital.”
When they got to the hospital, the doctor confirmed that Derek's eye irritation was caused by his exposure to UV light, even though he didn't look at it that long.
Derek said it was a very scary experience for him.
“Yun nga. dahil nga raw sa UV light and I was really worried that I lost my eyesight talaga.”
Although Derek had to learn the hard way how to safely handle UV lights, he's glad that Andrea was there for him during his ordeal.
A week ago, a similar incident happened to eight members of the media when they were exposed to the UV lights of a disinfecting robot in Baguio City.
The media men experienced pain, redness, and swelling in their eyes, as well as blurry vision.
In an interview with 24 Oras, ophthalmologist Dr. Jay Racoma said the burning sensation felt from exposure of the eyes to ultraviolet rays feels the same as sunburn in your skin.
Medical experts say long exposure to UV lights can lead to cataracts, photokeratitis, photoconjunctivitism, and 1st and 2nd degree skin burns.
So far, there's no set standard on how far or how long is safe when it comes to exposure to UV lights or UVC lamps.
Moreover, the Department of Health maintains its stand that there's no scientific proof yet that UV lights or UVC lamps can indeed kill COVID-19 virus.
So, if anyone should decide to use them as protection against COVID-19, they should now do so with much caution, especially after what happened to Derek Ramsay and the eight media men.
Derek Ramsay gives a tour of his new home!