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We give children, and humans, toy lasers pointers all the time. We use them to make our dogs and cats chase after nothing, or to annoy teachers.
But now, it may be best to take toy lasers out of children’s hands.
A new case study has come to light, which shows a case where a bus driver in Germany suffered permanent eye damage when the beam from a child’s laser bounced off his rearview mirror and into his eye.
The 44 year old man had 20/20 vision before the laser was shone in his eye. He reported blurred vision immediately, and it persisted for six months. An ophthalmologist examined him and found that injury was done to his macula, the part of the retina responsible for central vision.
Lasers are incredibly powerful light beams, and usually humans have a “blink reflex” to protect their eyes against them before damage can be done. However, doctors believe that the bus driver must have looked at the rearview mirror multiple times to try and see where the light was coming form, overriding the blink reflex.
The case study says that the laser beam traveled about 50 feet from its source before bouncing into the driver’s eye.
The doctors from the case study believe this should be seen as a call to take lasers out of the hands of these children. The report suggests that “no laser pointers of any class be made available to children, since they are unlikely to understand the risks of permanent retinal damage.
Low energy lasers are the only kinds told to children right now, but as seen here, even these toys can cause serious damage.
