Infared

my 100 mW is wayy too bright and my eyes csometimes hurt after using it in a small room haha i look at the dot for a second and its like WOW. but im getting an IR filter from NOVA so im not worried about that anymore but should i get goggles for just the green brightness? cant i just use sunglasses because i dont have to worry about ir anymore?

Sunglasses are dangerous to use because they cause your retina to expand, making a direct hit or a reflection even more disastrous. If you really wanna be safe, goggles are the only way to go. If you're just shining that laser at a white wall or something, with no risk of a reflection, I'd say that sunglasses might be ok(pros, correct me if I'm wrong). Again though, goggles are the only way to go if you really wanna play safe.

By retinas he means pupils

Your eyes hurt because of the green , not because of the IR. You should be more concerned about the green , it's can cause a lot more damage than the IR. : Besides, most green protection goggles are just for the green, that's why people buy them.IR goggles are more expensive.

Don't bother with the ir filter. It's just going to rob you of about 5% of your power and the ir that makes it out of the laser is a non-issue. The green is what you need to worry about. As far as looking at the dot, sunglasses are better than nothing but they are not protection from direct hits, so don't get comfortable with them. I understand the whole expanded pupil thing but I still think it's kind of a ridiculous theory. If it were more dangerous to wear sunglasses then our eyes would fry when we step out into the sun with them on. However a larger pupil does increase the eye's viewing surface area, which allows a slightly larger area for a beam to enter, making it a fraction of a percent more likely that you will get hit in the eye. Most people look at the pupil theory not as a function of surface area for a beam to enter, but that scattered light will do more damage because the pupil is expanded, which is just not the case.

Bottom line is that you should get a pair of safety glasses, don't skimp when it comes to your eyes.