A warning has been issued to parents everywhere after a 10-year-old boy was left with irreversible scarring to the eye from a laser pointer.
The youngster, who purchased the unregulated gadget while in Thailand on school holidays, retained permanent damage after it was directed into his eyes, and as a result is dealing with complications and difficulties in his schooling.
“The damage was unfortunately in both eyes, and he’s having difficulty at school now with reading,” Dr Chandra Balaratnasingam tells 7 News, adding that he now has to use a magnifying glass to read handouts.
Ophthalmologists have reportedly seen an increase in eye damage over the years caused by laser pointers, made that much worse from those purchased online and overseas often not adhering to Australian safety standards.
“The output of laser pointers purchased in Australia is very tightly regulated,” Dr Balaratnasingam says, adding that the output of lasers bought overseas can be up to 20 times what is considered safe.
“What we are finding is the rise in laser-induced retinopathy parallels with their growing availability from unregulated manufacturers.
“These lasers are not toys and can easily cause inadvertent injury to the retina and vision loss.”
The scarring on the boy’s eye.
