Photo: The Canadian Press

Optometrists' phones are ringing off the hook across B.C. after eclipse gazers ignored warnings and looked at the sun without protection.

Eye doctors are reporting an increase in calls about eye pain after the event.

Vancouver optometrist Kevin Mowbray said the phone at his office has been "ringing off the hook." Nearly two dozen patients have come in, concerned about damage to their eyes.

"They would get a spot showing up in their vision from what's called bleaching of the photoreceptors," Mowbray told CTV.

Those who took a quick glimpse likely didn't cause any lasting damage, he said, but others may not be so lucky.

"If there is damage to the back of the eye, it's permanent," optometrist Balraj Sharma said from Victoria.

"If they’re having an after-image after the fact and it's not going away, it's really important that they get their eyes checked."

Symptoms may take as long as a few days to show up.

– with files from CTV Vancouver