sun exposure after eye doctor

Hi -- I had my pupils dilated at an annual eye exam today with an ophthalmologist at about 2:30 p.m.  My pupils appeared no longer dilated about 5:30 p.m., so my husband and I went for a bike ride.  We were heading west and it was a bright day today; I was not looking directly into the sun, of course, but finally I had to admit that everything seemed painfully bright for me, so after about 15 minutes, we turned around and rode home.  (I was wearing high-quality, prescription sunglasses the entire time.)  I guess my question is whether it was okay to be out in the sun three hours after having my eyes dilated, even though my pupils appeared to be normal sized?  If not, did I do any damage to my eyes?  Thank you!  

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

Hello BG-MN    You did not damage your eyes. The issue is comfort and if you were comfortable you would not have hurt your eyes to continue your ride. However they were obviously not at full strength as your increased light sensitivity (photophobia) showed. By the way, I hope your wear a helmet when you ride. We've had a couple of injuries to the bones around the eye sustained by non-helmet wearing bicyclists that cracked up. (I'm a cyclist. Remember 'If you ride, you will fall (eventually). Hope the check-up on your eyes found no problems.

JCH MD Eye Physician & Surgeon