Laser pointer leaves boy with hole in his eye
A young boy has severely damaged his eye after shining a laser pointer into it.
The nine-year-old, from Greece, burnt a section of his left retina when beaming the small device into his eye, a report published in the New England Journal of Medicine revealed.
His damaged eye was only detected following a check-up with his doctor in Volos after complaining he was struggling to see. His appointment came over a year after the incident.
Doctors found a large macular hole in his left eye during a funduscopic exam, leaving him with 20/100 vision in his left eye. His right eye has remained at 20/20.
The boy said he shined the green laser pointer into his eye several times after his father purchased it for him from a market stall.
Due to the considerable size of the hole in the boy’s eye, doctors decided against surgery and instead opted for conservative management in case they damaged the eye further.
New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern gives birth to ‘healthy baby girl’
Girl, 13, charged after video emerges of vicious school attack
The report said despite a crackdown on the sale of lasers, they are still widely available online.
“Although many national health agencies have warned about the potential eye hazards associated with handheld laser pointers… more powerful laser devices remain accessible, especially through the Internet,” it said.
