VIDEO: What will happen if you looked at the solar eclipse without special glasses?

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Millions had their eyes to the sky to see the solar eclipse, but let’s be honest–not everyone had on those special solar glasses needed to protect their eyes.

So, what will happen now if you ignored all the warnings?

This photo of President Trump briefly looking at the eclipse without glasses made the rounds on Monday.

So, if you did take a quick peak at the sun, you are not alone.

But the damage done by staring at the sun is irreversible.

As darkness rolled in, some people took off their solar glasses for a better view of the eclipse, risking permanent damage to their vision.

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“You would burn a hole into the deeper layers of the retina,” Optometrist Dr. Michelle Blas said.

Blas tells KRON4 staring at the sun can cause a condition called solar retinopathy, a condition that decreases part of a person’s central vision.

Staring at the sun can essentially cook your retina.

“Normal eye, no hole here in the center verses here, we have a little bit of a hole,” Blas said.

With solar glasses hard to come by, and for some, card board pinhole projectors too complicated to make, some people did not follow warnings and looked directly up at the eclipse anyway.

Offenders would have had to have stared at the sun for an extended period of time like 20 seconds long, not just a quick glimpse.

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There is no pain involved.

But symptoms of blurred or distorted vision could come after a few hours or days.

It would not make you completely blind, but it would decrease your central vision, Blas said.

Unlike the eclipse that will be back, there is no guarantee your vision will return as there is no cure or treatment for a damaged retina.

“It is permanent, and it is not repairable,” Blas said.

Other optometrists, KRON4 spoke with on Monday said they were getting a lot of calls into their offices from people concerned about burning their eyes after looking at the eclipse.