Snow blindness

From Glossary of Meteorology



snow blindness

Impaired vision or temporary blindness caused by sunlight reflected from snow surfaces.

The medical name is niphablepsia. "Symptoms of snow blindness are a gritty sensation under the eyelids, excessive watering, double vision. First aid is to place the casualty in the dark or bandage the eyes; application of cool compresses alleviates pain. Most cases will recover in 18 hours without medical treatment"(from Glossary of Arctic and Subarctic Terms 1955).

Arctic, Desert, Tropic Information Center (ADTIC) Research Studies Institute 1955. Glossary of Arctic and Subarctic Terms. ADTIC Pub. A-105, Maxwell AFB, AL, . 90 pp.


Copyright 2024 American Meteorological Society (AMS). For permission to reuse any portion of this work, please contact permissions@ametsoc.org. Any use of material in this work that is determined to be “fair use” under Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act (17 U.S. Code § 107) or that satisfies the conditions specified in Section 108 of the U.S.Copyright Act (17 USC § 108) does not require AMS’s permission. Republication, systematic reproduction, posting in electronic form, such as on a website or in a searchable database, or other uses of this material, except as exempted by the above statement, require written permission or a license from AMS. Additional details are provided in the AMS Copyright Policy statement.