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Inappropriate Use Of Hand-Held Laser Pointers May Cause Serious Eye Damage

13th June, 2010 - Posted by Dr. S. Barry Eiden - No Comments

BBC News(6/9) reported that, according to a case study published in the British Medical Journal, “hand-held laser pointers can cause serious eye damage if used inappropriately.” Doctors from the UK’s “Royal Liverpool Hospital and Manchester Eye Hospital spoke out after treating a teenager who had shone a” green diode “laser into his eyes.” The boy, who “suffered burns and retinal damage,” had “central scotomas, or dark spots, in his vision.” Although the young man eventually recovered, doctors say he faces an increased risk of future vision problems as a result of the damage done to his retinas.

Laser pointers can cause eye injury

 To most of us this seems to be obvious. One should not point a laser devise towards ones eyes. However people continue to do apparently foolish things, so it becomes necessary to share this information with the public.

Over the past month I have been contacted to comment on the consequences of a number of seemingly foolish activities that could potentially result in eye damage or even permanent vision loss. One of the other crazy activities is called “Vodka Eyeballing” where a typically drunk individual pours vodka straight from the bottle into their eye! This can result in cornea damage and potentially permanent vision loss. Why someone would do this is beyond me, however things like this are continually being done. So the take home is to share this information with others and hope that people will behave appropriately and avoid potential eye damage. If you hear of anyone doing something crazy like this, please get involved, talk to them, educate them, and of course those of us with children and young adults – talk to them.