Damaged eyes?

[Vulcan]

So, I was planning on buying a 10mW green laser.

This thread changed my mind.

I don't doubt my own abilities to safely use it... But being at college I can just see someone else getting ahold of it and doing some damage. :X

[dimaprok]

...directly into the macula, 0.5 sec or so exposure. It's been 3 days now, and It seems to have gotten very slightly better, but I'm still missing vision in the very center of my right eye. I am so {censored} scared right now, you don't even know it.

I never shined laser in my eyes, but I got a spot and wavy hairline in my right eye that can be seen in the bright light. I am almost certain, I got it from testing video games at Microsoft, particularly xbox games on TV. I remember my eyes hurting so bad first couple weeks, I would have to close them ocationally. Computer games were ok, no problem, I've been playing them for long time before, but it's the refresh rate of TV that hurt the most. I also had to work overtime very often, so 10 hours a day was too much. The spot doesn't bother me much, but it's not so bad.

Also, DO NOT try to "stimulate" your eye by flashing light or what not. It's like getting a sand in your eyes and trying to clear it out by flashing with rubbing alcohol.

[laserblue]

even green laser pointers can damage your eyes that's according to Mayo clinic opthalmologists

http://greenlaserpointer.blogspot.co...cause-eye.html

[AvPD]

I'm a new 50mW green laser owner and am worried about even looking at the reflected light indoors due to reading about its possible high IR output. I have a recent predating artifact in my vision that looks like a raindrop on a camera lens when I blink or squint, most likely due to briefly looking into several LED torches I recently bought (why didn't it occur to me to at least use sunglasses). I use some welding goggles I happen to have when using it indoors or when unsucessfully trying to light a match or burn myself, it's simply not worth risking my vision at all just for some trivial laser use. I have been wondering if pointing the laser eg. at the ceiling and looking at the reflected light on a wall is dangerous, it might only be the IR equivalent of looking at a bar heater.

[broadgage]

Does anyone know at what distance a handheld laser can damage eyesight?
The beam does diverge with distance, though only very slightly.

The stupidty of pointing lasers at persons, or vehicles containing persons, hopefully does not need repeating here. But what about pointing a laser into apparently empty sky, as is often done, could this endanger the sight of crew in high flying military airplanes? (some of which fly so high as to be not readily visible)

Or what about the practice of directing a laser onto a distant mountain top, could this damage the sight of anyone on the mountain? (who at a distance of perhaps 10 miles would not be visible to the laser user)

Or even taken to the extreme, would a laser directed at the moon be dangerous to anyone on the moon? (i know the moon is empty now, but in future?)

[TorchBoy]

Holding lasers steady over ranges of kilometers might be an issue if hand-holding, but there are some very powerful lasers available to consumers these days, and I suppose the more powerful ones are more likely to be mounted.

By the time a laser gets to the moon it covers an area several kilometers across. Only telescopes and retroreflectors on the moon allow the "dot" to be seen from Earth.

[rmyc]

and that why those lasers are illegal in the US

[stephenmadpotato]

and that why those lasers are illegal in the US

Actually they aren't illegal if you have the 5 point safety system....

[laserblue]

WEll with the increasing powers of green laser pointers, i think laser safety googles should also be worn when operating the laser pointers

[rmyc]

Actually they aren't illegal if you have the 5 point safety system....

Yes they are, i woked for a green laser company in the US, they sell the best laser product. we were selling high powed green lasers and got audited and fined by FDA. Look at all the high power green lasers they are pretty much all sold from over seas because they are illegal

[stephenmadpotato]

Yes they are, i woked for a green laser company in the US, they sell the best laser product. we were selling high powed green lasers and got audited and fined by FDA. Look at all the high power green lasers they are pretty much all sold from over seas because they are illegal

You are wrong. Lasers that have the 5-point safety system. I am not going to waste the time to look it up, but here is a reputable site selling legal class IIIB lasers. http://www.thinkgeek.com/files/laser-instructions-2.pdf

[Athoul]

Wow... I'm very sorry to hear about what happened. I hope everything turns out ok.

I'm a big advocate of lsaer safety and have made many posts on it in the past (on other forums). What I really think is nessessary is some documentation included with every laser indicating the potential dangers and safe use of the device.

As for legality etc. 5-point safety features do not make it legal. These safety features are required for public use in... for example a club. However in your own home, a laser does not have to have any form of safety feature to be legal. When used outdoors, it's most likely not legal to shine any high powered laser around (safety features or not).

I have seen someone look into a laser device that had the 5-star safety because they thought it was broken. Lucky they looked away in time as the beam then turned on, due to the few second delay. Without proper documentation, this can be even more dangerous then a laser without a delay.

I have seen documentaion describing how to insert batteries, turn the device on etc... but as of yet generally no documentation on the safety aspect.

There's also those who insist that a 5mW laser is safe. This is not true. I have focused one enough that it made a tiny hole in a very thin plastic material. The membrane in an eye is just as delicate or even more so!

The accidents that occur with lasers are generally very easily avoided. I believe that it really comes down to the lack of danger awareness due to lack of included documentation. There's plenty of laser danger threads listed throughout the various forums, but documentation provided with the laser would allow everyone that purchased one immediate access to the information.

[stephenmadpotato]

Wow... I'm very sorry to hear about what happened. I hope everything turns out ok.

I'm a big advocate of lsaer safety and have made many posts on it in the past (on other forums). What I really think is nessessary is some documentation included with every laser indicating the potential dangers and safe use of the device.

As for legality etc. 5-point safety features do not make it legal. These safety features are required for public use in... for example a club. However in your own home, a laser does not have to have any form of safety feature to be legal. When used outdoors, it's most likely not legal to shine any high powered laser around (safety features or not).

I have seen someone look into a laser device that had the 5-star safety because they thought it was broken. Lucky they looked away in time as the beam then turned on, due to the few second delay. Without proper documentation, this can be even more dangerous then a laser without a delay.

I have seen documentaion describing how to insert batteries, turn the device on etc... but as of yet generally no documentation on the safety aspect.

There's also those who insist that a 5mW laser is safe. This is not true. I have focused one enough that it made a tiny hole in a very thin plastic material. The membrane in an eye is just as delicate or even more so!

The accidents that occur with lasers are generally very easily avoided. I believe that it really comes down to the lack of danger awareness due to lack of included documentation. There's plenty of laser danger threads listed throughout the various forums, but documentation provided with the laser would allow everyone that purchased one immediate access to the information.

Hi,
actually, if you read the FDA'S
21 CFR1040.10 and 1040.11, it states all unregistered class IIIB laser pointers must be used indoors, in a room with no reflective surfaces and warning signs must be posted before entering the room.

[V8TOYTRUCK]

Can someone recommend safety glasses for use with high powered lasers? I was thinking of picking one up from dealextreme

[Athoul]

That criteria does not apply to your own personal use in your own home. You are free to invent and design things etc, with or without warning labels safety etc.. However if someone else was injured by it, yes you would be fully liable.

For example you could have a fully fuctional 100 Watt CO2 laser in your garage. If it didn't contain any safety features etc, it would still be fine. However the moment that others have acess to it, it becomes an issue.

Of course it's better to just always use the proper safety measures, but the point is that there are certian cases where it's not illegal to not have them in place.

As for safety goggles, you probalby want at least an OD (optical density) of 3 when using class 3b laser devices. The higher the OD, the more protection they offer. Make sure the goggles protect against all the wavelengths involved (eg. 808,1064 and 532nm for DPSS greens).

[stephenmadpotato]

Hey all, I am giving my final update. I had an eye doctor appointment today and had them check to see if I still have any damage. The results were devestating, apparently I have destroyed all of the green portion of my vision in my right eye and it will probably rot in the near future causing total blindness.


























































Hahaha, just kidding I'm fine no damage. She checked every section of my eye and could not find any damage.

[Athoul]

I'm very glad to find out that everything turned out to be fine. You did come close to potential damage though!

I'd like to point out one other thing, not sure if it was mentioned before. However even lasers of 5mW can be dangerous. 5mW greens would be more dangerous then reds because the red coloured tissue abosrbs green much better. Why risk it though? Always be careful with any laser.

[AvPD]

I wonder how k00zk0 is doing.

[Kiessling]

I think it is time to close this one in order to preserve it as a testimony and to avoid slipping into questionable jokes.
bernhard