Anderson Cooper Blinded Temporarily While on 60 Minutes Assignment, Shows Off Eyepatch

Get the scoop on TV journalist’s burned eyeballs

By Brett Malec Dec 04, 2012 11:28 PMTags
E! Placeholder Image

Anderson Cooper is back to good health after he was recently blinded on the job!

Luckily for the Anderson Live host, the eye affliction wasn't permanent.

"Temporarily blinded last week while on assignment," the 45-year-old posted on Instagram with a photo of a large white patch covering his right eye. "UV light bouncing off water. Much better now. Details today on #andersonlive."

Cooper went on to further explain on his show that the injury occurred while he spent several hours filming a segment for 60 Minutes in a coastal area of Portugal.

"I wake up in the middle of the night and it feels like my eyes are on fire," he said. "It turns out I have sunburned my eyeballs and I go blind. I went blind for 36 hours. I took this picture of me after I went to the hospital. I went to see a doctor."

Cooper later consulted with NBC's chief medical editor Dr. Nancy Snyderman, who explained that the blindness was caused by the light reflecting off the water burning his retinas, much like how sunlight reflected off of snow can burn the eyes of skiers and snowboarders.

Cooper's hospital visit could have been avoided through the use of protective sunglasses.

And now that he's all better, it's good to hear that Cooper has a sense of humor about the whole ordeal. While sharing another photo of his bandaged eye to his audience, Cooper joked, "That's my new Match.com profile picture, by the way."