eye damage by 50mw?

Its one of the cheap 50mw green laser on DX.
Basically what happened is that i got quickly hit in the eye by the laser, and my vision was weird for some time, and i lost my nightvision too. My vision felt normal again after some time, and feels normal now too. However i have not checked my eyes after this, didnt bother since it didnt last for long. I didnt use protection goggles. I used normal glasses (but i doubt that matter?).

I dont know much about lasers, but ive heard that those from DX arent 50mw, but it still hurt. Should i bother checking my eyes?
And im buying some protection glasses soon

Ps: sorry foor poorly written, on my phone and norwegian

eye damage is quite possible with anything >5mw, to be safe you might as well check with your optometrist

^^ This

Go to your optometrist as soon as you possibly can. 50mW can very easily give you eye damage.

--Hydro15

I had one of those DX lasers... definately not 50 mW.. But it's probably 15-30 so it is still possible though less likely that it would cause damage than a 50 mW... If you vision problems cleared you don't need to PANIC but I would still go get it checked by a professional to make sure nothing went wrong and you shouldn't use your lasers anymore UNTIL you get safety glasses.

Thanks for the replies!

Although my vision is good now, i'll get it checked out soon.
And i definietly get some safety glasses. Anyone recommend any cheap ones for the type of laser i have?

At what range were you hit? Lasers are not for you if you are unable to appreciate the risks involved.

Was hit at about 1m-2m.
I know, i wasn't aware of the danger by lasers at that time. I wont touch it until i get safety glasses.

batteripakke said:

Thanks for the replies!

Although my vision is good now, i'll get it checked out soon.
And i definietly get some safety glasses. Anyone recommend any cheap ones for the type of laser i have?

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You just got hit by a laser and possibly got permanent eye damage for it and you want cheap stuff? I'd recommend some decent stuff instead of chinese unmarked crap.

batteripakke said:

Was hit at about 1m-2m.
I know, i wasn't aware of the danger by lasers at that time. I wont touch it until i get safety glasses.

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Then the question is: how long were you hit? Did you have to look away or was it a quick sweep? The longer the exposure time, the more likely you have eye damage.

Just a little update, so i got it checked yesterday. She said everything looked okay as far as she should see, but im going to a specialist soon.
Might be that the laser did very little damage. I guess i was lucky.
(And yes, i've learned)

If a regular exam of your retina via a picture and dilation didn't reveal anything to your standard ophthalmologist, chances are there is no damage or it's too small to matter.

If your insurance covers it, and it's free to you, go for it, but if not, might as well save your money.

With our "500mW", "700mW" and "1w" or even "2.3w" stuff lately, it's amazing how lax we've all become about 50mW.

Yes, 50mW can blind you. Period. It can, and it's not hard for it to happen. I know I'm going to get some kickback here on this. But remember what you're dealing with.

Just a few short years ago, folks in this hobby would have seen a 50mW green as mind blowing, and treated it with a lot of respect. Now, since it's "comparatively low", it's seen as "wimpy" and for some reason in folks minds that's translated along with it being "safer".

One of the worst laser "uh-ohs" I had was when my old 50mW CNI, back in 2004 or so, reflected off of the shiny lacquer of my guitar. It took me a day for my vision to recover. It was not a good scene.

I'm glad I got that "warning shot" with a 50mW back then, to give me the respect I have now. If the angle had been different, if the surface was just a bit more specular, if the angle was just a bit different, it may not have recovered.

If it was my 500mW green.... well let's just say I wouldn't be flying planes anymore. Everyone's heard the relentless din about goggles. I know a lot of people don't wear them, and wouldn't be caught dead with them.

At least gain the respect. And realize that when they say >5mW is dangerous, that was not a number pulled out of a hat. A lot of countries have the cutoff at 1mW.

Again I'm sure I'll get some followups by people calling me a wimp or the like, telling me I'm stupid by saying that 50mW can blind you. For those of you new to the hobby: ignore them. It can.

InfinitusEquitas said:

If a regular exam of your retina via a picture and dilation didn't reveal anything to your standard ophthalmologist, chances are there is no damage or it's too small to matter.

If your insurance covers it, and it's free to you, go for it, but if not, might as well save your money.

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Everythings free in the Scandinavian countries you know :drool:

Arynthia : I concur.
Well put
:gj:

ginhev123 said:

Everythings free in the Scandinavian countries you know :drool:

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Hmm, time to go visit a dentist in scandinavia I guess

Yeah, you won't suffer instant permanent damage from 50mw hit as it will heal up, but it increases your chances of further eye problems in the future. why the hell would you bother even risking it?

magmabeam said:

Yeah, you won't suffer instant permanent damage from 50mw hit as it will heal up, but it increases your chances of further eye problems in the future. why the hell would you bother even risking it?

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This is BAD advice magma.

People have suffered INSTANT PERMANENT damage to their eyes, from <50mW lasers.

The damage does not heal either, rather our brains simply learn to work around it.