NEW YORK (Reuters Health)-
According to a new report, powerful lasers that can easily be purchased online pose a serious threat to vision.
A doctor from Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina reported a 9-year-
The old boy who came out of the hospital after being blinded by an adult playing with a laser.
"No one realized there was an actual injury before he came in and we saw the bleeding," Dr.
Cynthia Tott, one of the authors of the new report, told Reuters Health Channel. The high-
The powerful laser went through the boy's eye lenses and blew up the blood vessels behind his eyes.
"It's a bigger device for sale as a toy, but it's a dangerous weapon," Toth said . ".
"You can light the fire with the power that comes out of that fire.
Toth is a professor of ophthalmology and biomedical engineering at Duke University.
She also has a long history in researching and using lasers. The high-
The power laser is made of a part of a demolished home theater projector and purchased online.
According to the United States, laserS.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
, Is a "powerful, targeted beam of shots used in many products, from music players and printers to eyes-surgery tools.
FDA regulates laser like other radiation
Electronic products, and it is divided into categories and sub-categories.
Class 3a lasers include lasers commonly used to point at presentation.
Their power cap is 5 milliwatts (mW)
Visible spectrum under federal regulations.
Class 4 lasers are types used in industrial or medical environments and are a direct hazard.
According to the researchers, the laser used on boys in the new report belongs to the fourth category.
It generates 1,250 megawatts of electricity.
Toth and her colleagues reported in JAMA Ophthalmology that two months later, the boy's vision finally recovered.
But others are not so lucky, Tott says.
Toth said other reports of laser eye injuries have been published in other magazines in the past few months.
In one case, the laser burns a hole behind the human eye.
"I do think that higher power lasers are easier to get than in the past," she said . ".
"For this reason, I wouldn't be surprised if the number of injuries increased.
"The size of the damage is related to the intensity of the laser," said the doctor.
Stacy Pineles, an assistant professor of ophthalmology at the Stein Eye Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, and a retina expert, told Reuters Health in an email.
"As described in this article, the shorter wavelength lasers that consumers can now use are more likely to be absorbed by the retina, and therefore can lead to serious, sometimes permanent loss of vision," Pineles, he said, he was not involved in the new report.
People who use lasers should wear goggles, she said.
"In order to get maximum protection, specific goggles are required for different types of lasers.
It's also important that people don't let their children play with any type of laser, Toth said. “Even a so-
"The so-called level of safety can also be dangerous," she said . " She added that people who think they are injured should go to the doctor. SOURCE: bit.
JAMA Ophthalmology, online, January 9, 2014.