Perth boy partially blinded by toy laser mishap

Doctors have warned parents about the dangers of toy lasers after a Perth boy was left partially blinded in a laser accident.

The boy had been playing with a laser he bought off the street in Thailand, when the laser was pointed at his eyes.

“The damage was unfortunately in both eyes, and he’s having difficulty at school now with reading,” Dr Chandra Balaratnasingam said.

“He has to use a magnifying glass at school.”

Dr Balaratnasingam said the laser had shone through the boy’s lens into the retina at the back of the eye.

The resulting burn left scars inside the 10-year-old’s eye.

“A scar can’t see, so that’s why you lose vision in the eye,” Dr Balaratnasingam said.

The Lions Eye institute says lasers purchased online don’t come with a warning, and often the power output written on them is incorrect.

The laser can be 20 times stronger in some cases.

“I’ve seen at least three cases with children being injured inadvertently by the handheld lasers,” Dr Balaratnasingam said.

Experts say lasers sold in Australia must meet strict standards, but still shouldn’t be pointed at eyes.