# Possible eye damage from 1mW laser line?



## anx (Dec 4, 2013)

Hello i am quite scared right now so i apologize for the long story...




Yesterday at the office, an external firm fixed a decoration on the wall halfway the hallway. To fit this, he used a laser tool that was projecting a vertical line to the front on the wall but also to the left and right into nowhere meaning the beginning and ending of the hallway. He used a Hilti pm 4-m multiline laser tool that stood on the ground at foot height. The specs are <1mW 635nm Class 2 with a battery life of 8 hours.


Ok now before i continue you must know this: The hallway left side is a white wall and the right side are diffused windows and the sun was shining very bright for this time of the year. It was around noon when the sun was at it's highest.


So next i had to pass through the hallway and with the sun being that bright, i focused my eyes on the ground not knowing that the laser thing was standing there. Next i felt something that i can best describe as contraction of my eye muscle of some sort, like when you get from a dark room too a bright lit room your eyes do something "strange" ...or when you get hit by a laser, it's some kind of "blast" in your eye that you not hear nor feel but it is there. This happened for about 2-3 seconds.


At this point i just thought it was just the sun shining in my eyes so i moved on, and suddenly at the middle of the hallway, i saw the laser machine at my feet that was shining a line towards me on the ground, not in my eyes because i was to close at this point.


So i began to wonder. because in the past i had a supermarket laser shone in my eyes and it felt like the same "blast". Back then the blink reflex saved me but now i did nothing special because at no point when i was walking toward the laser, again not knowing it was there, i never saw a light that was bright enough to draw my attention like every laser should when in use?




So my first question is, can the sunlight de-brighten the start point (not the projection) of a laser so that it's not noticable but still in use? If so, will it still have the dangerous effects/strength?
Second, can a laser still damage your retina if shone in your peripheral vision?
Third, should i be concerned that this laser damaged my eyes given the "blast" time, if it was from the laser line?


Any thoughts on this? Because i really don't have a clue and don't know if i should be worried.. I added a drawing to illustrate this story.




At final i do mainly computer work, already slept pretty badly before this incident so pretty tired.


Because the only thing i am feeling is a sort of inflammation feeling/pain in/behind my right eye. I can't say i am seeing more blurry than usual and i can't say i see more floaters than usual. Also i don't see any afterimages i think.


Hopefully someone can help me! Thanks!


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## AnAppleSnail (Dec 4, 2013)

I wouldn't expect it, but you should go to your eye doctor as soon as you can. Not because you looked at a laser, but because your eye doesn't feel right.

Supposedly, 1 mW lasers rarely cause a reaction in healthy eyes. But my eye doctor tells me that people playing with lasers or bright lights often 'set off' a problem that has been slowly developing. One of his patients complained about terrible driving glare - Going to the eye doctor detected occupational exposure to UV (Causing cataracts). One CPFer shone a bright light in his eye and detected some unrelated retinal injury (I forget exactly what) that had been getting worse.

Go to the eye doctor. We're hobbyists, not practicing physicians!


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## anx (Dec 5, 2013)

Yeah i am planning to make an appointment today

My eye sort of feels like it has been hit by something together with some inflammation feeling at the surface

So here's the picture, real art


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## Eidetic (Dec 5, 2013)

There is no way that kind of laser did anything to your eye. No possible way. You probably rubbed your eye and that caused your discomfort. Again, no possible way can a laser line leveling tool hurt your eye.


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## firelord777 (Dec 5, 2013)

The sun looks happy

Less than 1 mw, and it's a leveling tool, so the beam is spread out, not a tiny dot like other lasers. Honestly dude, you're fine. The indirect sunlight you're eyes were receiving is more powerful than that...


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## ozzy1990 (Dec 6, 2013)

You are joking right?


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## firelord777 (Dec 10, 2013)

ozzy1990 said:


> You are joking right?



Well, I was exaggerating a bit of course, I like to encourage others, especially when a mindset can play a critical role in healing and resilience. I know it is possible to hurt one's eyes with even a 0.5 mw, but very rarely does it happen, because either ignorance or plain dumbness may cause some people to intentionally stare into a beam, regardless if they think its not powerful enough to cause harm.

But yes, although I do believe the OP is fine, I would recommend a check up in case there is damage that is not readily apparent

Cheers


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## gearhead1972 (Dec 10, 2013)

I am in commercial/industrial construction. I get hit in the eye by these types of lasers multiple times a day and have never had anything but instantaneous recovery. I will say this though, the contractor should have put up signs stating that a laser was in use. https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=10627 If you did infact get damage from the laser, you need to tell the boss and file a workmans comp claim. Either way you should inform your boss of the incident so you are covered.


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## gearhead1972 (Dec 10, 2013)

firelord777 said:


> Well, I was exaggerating a bit of course, I like to encourage others, especially when a mindset can play a critical role in healing and resilience. I know it is possible to hurt one's eyes with even a 0.5 mw, but very rarely does it happen, because either ignorance or plain dumbness may cause some people to intentionally stare into a beam, regardless if they think its not powerful enough to cause harm.
> 
> But yes, although I do believe the OP is fine, I would recommend a check up in case there is damage that is not readily apparent
> 
> Cheers



Perfect example: I was welding on a job, I lifted my shield up the brand new apprentice was looking right where I was just welding. I did this like 3 times then finally I said, "hey are you staring at the pretty blue light" yeah, why he says :duh2:


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## firelord777 (Dec 10, 2013)

I'll be honest, when I was a kid I would also take a peek at those welding lights, but then my father would scold me and tell me to turn away.

But why do welds cause eye damage exactly? I thought the real danger was molten metal getting in your face and eyes...


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## gearhead1972 (Dec 10, 2013)

firelord777 said:


> I'll be honest, when I was a kid I would also take a peek at those welding lights, but then my father would scold me and tell me to turn away.
> 
> But why do welds cause eye damage exactly? I thought the real danger was molten metal getting in your face and eyes...



I am not 100% sure, I don't know the science behind it, but it is really bright lol. Would you look into the led of a Fenix PD32U? I think the biggest problem though is from UV radiation. If I weld for a few days in a row in just a t-shirt I will get a tan..no joke.


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## Vinniec5 (Dec 11, 2013)

Yes, Gearhead it's the UV Light that's the real danger and it's no joke for those that have never welded or seen Arc welding Firelord Your father was right. It's basically being upclose to a electrical short circuit TIG is so bright the light is purple/pink and will blind your *** if you do stupid things like stare at it. I used to use a shade 12 glass lens with a layer of reflective gold on it before the electronic auto-darkening LCDs came out, been a while since I melted anything together.

Protect your eyes at al times and don't become a blind Primitive Pete


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## Eidetic (Dec 11, 2013)

firelord777 said:


> ... I know it is possible to hurt one's eyes with even a 0.5 mw, but very rarely does it happen, because either ignorance or plain dumbness may cause some people to intentionally stare into a beam, regardless if they think its not powerful enough to cause harm. ...
> 
> 
> Cheers



The only way I know about for hurting one's eye with a 0.5mW laser is to poke the laser itself into the eye. This sounds to me like paranoia taken to the extreme.


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## jorn (Dec 13, 2013)

firelord777 said:


> I'll be honest, when I was a kid I would also take a peek at those welding lights, but then my father would scold me and tell me to turn away.
> 
> But why do welds cause eye damage exactly? I thought the real danger was molten metal getting in your face and eyes...


Uv rays. your eyes gets a "sunburn" thats why it hurts like h...... And you dont need to stare at the pretty green/blue flame to get it. If this light hit your eyeball 90 degree from the side, your eyeball still gets sunburned. 

Agree with the others, i get hit with lasers like this quite often. No problems at all.


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## Sneakers356 (Jan 20, 2014)

*Photokeratitis* or *ultraviolet keratitis* is a painful eye condition caused by exposure of insufficiently protected eyes to the ultraviolet (UV) rays from either natural or artificial sources. Photokeratitis is akin to a sunburn of the cornea and conjunctiva, and is not usually noticed until several hours after exposure. Symptoms include increased tears and a feeling of pain, likened to having sand in the eyes.
The injury may be prevented by wearing eye protection that blocks most of the ultraviolet radiation, such as welding goggles with the proper filters, a welder's helmet, sunglasses rated for sufficient UV protection, or appropriate snow goggles. The condition is usually managed by removal from the source of ultraviolet radiation, covering the corneas, and administration of pain relief. Photokeratitis is known by a number of different terms including: *snow blindness*, *arc eye*, *welder's flash*, *bake eyes*, *corneal flash burns*, *flash burns*, *niphablepsia*, or *keratoconjunctivitis photoelectrica*.


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