Teen’s eye damaged after staring at pet toy

It is known that  it’s dangerous to stare into a laser pointer, as the repercussions are well-documented in the medical world.

However, one teen’s case serves as a reminder exactly how badly a laser pointer can damage the eyes.

In a medical case study, published in Retinal Cases & Brief Reports, doctors document the case of a teenager who stared directly into a laser pointer for several seconds while playing a game with friends.

This device was a laser pointer toy used for exercising pets. These types of laser pointers are often branded as low-powered and it is presumed that they can’t do extreme harm to the eye when you stare into them.

However, in this case, the teen suffered significant retinal damage which included lesions and loss of the inner and outer segments of cone photoreceptors.

t was already five months after staring into the laser pointer that the boy visited an ophthalmologist with ongoing blurred vision and partial vision loss in his right eye.

The boy was unable to distinguish individual letters when reading text with his right eye while keeping his left eye closed.

While his vision steadily improved in both eyes, a high-resolution optical scanning system revealed the extent of damage done to both retinas. According to Ohio State University ophthalmologist Frederick Davidorf, entire regions of light-sensitive photoreceptors were “blasted away” by the laser.

“There is just nothing left there. The affected areas are devoid of cones,” Davidorf said. The patient was diagnosed with macular laser burns, but the visual loss was unexplained until the optical scan was performed.

While the boy’s vision is recovering, the damage to the retina cannot be undone, even though there was a slight decrease in the lesions. According to Davidorf, the scarring will always be there.

The danger of laser pointer toys

Davidorf hopes that this case serves as a warning. He also states that we underestimate exactly how powerful lasers, even weak ones, can be. While some research suggests that the risks are slightly overblown, this medical case serves as a reminder that there is still potential danger in even weaker laser toys.

“Handheld lasers can range in power from <5 mW (typical laser pointers) to >1 200 mW (high power blue lasers capable of lighting cigarettes or remotely igniting fireworks),” the case study states.

“Misuse can result in retinal injuries that can be localised to just the outer retina or may result in full-thickness macular holes.”

The takeaway? Stay on the safe side and don’t point a laser into your own eye while entertaining your pets.