Doctors: Powerful laser pointers are hazardous
September 12th, 2010 - 9:39 pm ICT by Aishwarya Bhatt
London, Sep 12 (THAINDIAN NEWS) The New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday reported that a 15-year-old boy’s eyes have been destroyed after he exposed his eyes to a laser pointer that he had purchased from the Internet.
The incident has brought to the fore how easy it is to get dangerously high-powered laser pointers on the Internet.
In recent months, this is the third reported case eye damage as a result of laser exposure. British doctors reported in June that a high-powered laser pointer damaged a teenager’s eyes. Another British medical officer also said his sight was affected for some months after his 7 year old son exposed him to the laser.
Laser pointers are highly regulated in the United States. The Food and Drugs Administration in the United States has imposed a power limit on the sale of the laser pointers. Laser pointers should not exceed the output limit of 5 mill watts to be sold legally in the United States. Laser pointers are mostly used by lecturers and speakers to point out information during presentation. They emit narrow beam of laser and the power of emission allowed by the FDA is not enough to instantly damage the eye, though long period of exposure can cause damage.
However higher-powered versions of the laser pointers are available on the Internet for sale to anyone, including those in the United States. The FDA has stated previously that it has found toys and laser pointers that exceed the authorized limit. Health officers and authorities are calling the situation a “legitimate public health menace”.
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