Eye floaters from indirect laser beam?

[Handsomeboy]

A few months ago, I bought an illegal 1.3 watt Chinese laser in the blue violet wavelength (strong enough to set paper bags on fire from several feet away. I changed the laser lens so it created multiple beams coming out of the laser pointer and was shining it in my room against a white wall backdrop. I was not wearing any protective gear and looked at the wall (that the laser was defeated into hundreds of multiple beams - like a disco ball type of situation). I was looking at that the wall from around 5 feet away for maybe 10 seconds. No direct laser contact to my eye. Since then I have noticed minor floaters which was very correlative of the timing with the laser. I went to see a retinal specialist and he said it wasn’t from the laser. However the timing was just too coincidental? I do have moderate near sightedness at 6.50 both eyes. What do you all think? Was it from the indirect contact from the laser or not? Because on YouTube I watched styropyro saying there are kilowatt lasers that are invisible that can get your retinas and you can’t even see thebeam which scares the Jesus out of me. So question reiterated: had indirect contact with over 1 watt fire starting laser in the 400 nm spectrum by seeing the laser on a white wall no protective eyewear. Now have floaters. Was the floaters caused by the laser or purely coincidental timing because of my nearsightedness. I am in my mid to late 30s

A few months ago, I bought an illegal 1.3 watt Chinese laser in the blue violet wavelength (strong enough to set paper bags on fire from several feet away. I changed the laser lens so it created multiple beams coming out of the laser pointer and was shining it in my room against a white wall backdrop. I was not wearing any protective gear and looked at the wall (that the laser was defeated into hundreds of multiple beams - like a disco ball type of situation). I was looking at that the wall from around 5 feet away for maybe 10 seconds. No direct laser contact to my eye. Since then I have noticed minor floaters which was very correlative of the timing with the laser. I went to see a retinal specialist and he said it wasn’t from the laser. However the timing was just too coincidental? I do have moderate near sightedness at 6.50 both eyes. What do you all think? Was it from the indirect contact from the laser or not? Because on YouTube I watched styropyro saying there are kilowatt lasers that are invisible that can get your retinas and you can’t even see thebeam which scares the Jesus out of me. So question reiterated: had indirect contact with over 1 watt fire starting laser in the 400 nm spectrum by seeing the laser on a white wall no protective eyewear. Now have floaters. Was the floaters caused by the laser or purely coincidental timing because of my nearsightedness. I am in my mid to late 30s

My understanding is that white will reflect the high energy beam but colors absorb the lasers which is why the laser only burns through non white surfaces but white surface is completely unblemished. Since it was a white drywall, would the laser beam reflect off the wall into my eye and cause the vitreous gel in my eye to become distorted (since maybe the high energy beam would cause the vitreous made of hylaneuric acid to change and lead to contraction of the gel leading to precipitation of floaters)

 

[dooderdo]

Did you post a few days or weeks ago a similar thread?

I think I was exposed to a laser specular reflection back in November. Onset of floaters the same time. Too many to count. Seen three ophthalmologists. Two have said not laser related, one said it is possible but not likely.

Any other back history for yourself? Bad diet, vitamin deificiency, high stress, dehydration, etc?

My floaters are still here and I am considering core vitrectomy if they are still here in 1 year.

 

[Encap]

>>>Warning<<<​

"If you think you need medical help or attention for an eye injury or any other medical problem, you probably do."
"If you have been hit in the eye with a laser and feel you have suffered any type of eye injury as the result of an accident with a laser that may need medical opinion or treatment,
go to a hospital Emergency Room and/or consult a qualified Board Certified MD Ophthalmologist ASAP.
LPF is a laser hobbyist website, not physicians, and cannot give any medical or legal advice.
No professional medical or legal advice is available or possible on LPF"​

For additional information see laserpointersafety.com here:
Laser Pointer Safety - What to do if you are hit by a laser pointer or laser pen​

 

[Handsomeboy]

Did you post a few days or weeks ago a similar thread?

I think I was exposed to a laser specular reflection back in November. Onset of floaters the same time. Too many to count. Seen three ophthalmologists. Two have said not laser related, one said it is possible but not likely.

Any other back history for yourself? Bad diet, vitamin deificiency, high stress, dehydration, etc?

My floaters are still here and I am considering core vitrectomy if they are still here in 1 year.

I have never posted a thread but I did send you a personal message after reading your story because it was very similar to mine and left my email so you can contact me and we can figure out what happened. My incident (which is a laser that went through a speculative lens and I gazed at the reflection against a white drywall) also happened in November and now I am seeing floaters in both eyes (floaters are only hairlines and some amoeba like and only noticeable on computer white background or the sky). I asked the retinal specialist and he was adamant it wasn’t the laser but I didn’t tell him the details of the situation. Also he said for me (and probably you) that yag laser wasn’t right for me because the floaters were so slight and from his tests it showed a “clear” vitreous and “no retinal damage” only some lattice in my left eye (risk of retinal tear in future). Vitrectomy was too much downside for the reward.

Did you post a few days or weeks ago a similar thread?

I think I was exposed to a laser specular reflection back in November. Onset of floaters the same time. Too many to count. Seen three ophthalmologists. Two have said not laser related, one said it is possible but not likely.

Any other back history for yourself? Bad diet, vitamin deificiency, high stress, dehydration, etc?

My floaters are still here and I am considering core vitrectomy if they are still here in 1 year.

My diet is grass fed filet mignon, wild salmon and spinach and rice generally a combo of those. And organic milk. I also take vitamin D supplement sometimes and sometimes lipoid acid. Yes I am under high stress from various factors (personal, career but not financial). I am not sure about dehydration but I only drink around the equivalent of 2 -8-12 oz glasses of liquid a day, maybe 3. Other than having moderate myopia and using the computer a lot (maybe blue light from computer build up overtime?) I can’t think of any other reason for the sudden appearance of my floaters in BOTH eyes in November right when I looked at the white dry wall reflection of the speckled over 1 watt 400 nm laser

I saw 1 general ophthalmologist and got referred to the retinal specialist and the retinal specialist said the laser was not the cause. But I still am skeptical because of the timing of the laser to when my floaters appeared. Now my eyes get tired much faster when I look at the computer. I still think the reflection of the high energy speckled beams may have caused some type of disruption to my vitreous gel and lead to the hylaurnuric (sorry for misspelling) acid precipitating out. Kind of like when ultra violet high energy light hits your skin and causes free radical damage and disrupts cellular activity? It definitely can’t be good.

 

[dooderdo]

Not sure what to say. If ophthalmologists can't find anything wrong then it would be almost impossible to prove. But yes I get your frustration. I have seen an optometrist and three ophthalmologists. Everything looks fine they say.

Maybe in the future, there will be more studies about the photochemical effects of laser on the vitreous. But until then, it seems like there may be a lack of understanding about the formation of eye floaters due to lasers.

 

[atomd]

Can we pin it for all people that want to buy high power lasers without goggles and training?

 

[dooderdo]

Not a bad idea but considering that even vitreoretinal ophthalmologists (trained medical professionals) say floaters aren't caused by lasers, then wouldn't it be a little misleading?

But I agree that it seems highly coincidental that we both got floaters from potential laser exposure. Additionally, a small number of other members have mentioned getting floaters as well after laser exposure.

 

[Unown (WILD)]

Can we pin it for all people that want to buy high power lasers without goggles and training?

Pin what? Pin a thread with unprofessional posts about something no one here is qualified to give advice about? No if anything this thread needs to be closed. The warning was posted by encap and that is that as far as I am concerned.
In fact that warning is now in my signature. Best advice you can give to someone.

 

[Handsomeboy]

So are there any other ways to get rid of floaters other than YaG laser (not practical for my case), vitrectomy (too much risk for the potential upsides), or nano bubbles (still not exactly sure how the technology works)

 

[Handsomeboy]

The thing is, me and doodero were not exposed to direct lasers but to the reflection off the wall. The question is whether the reflection (which should be weaker due to the speckling), would cause enough high energy photons to enter the eye and cause disruption on a micro level leading to floater precipitation in the gel area

 

[Handsomeboy]

The thing is, me and doodero were not exposed to direct lasers but to the reflection off the wall. The question is whether the reflection (which should be weaker due to the speckling), would cause enough high energy photons to enter the eye and cause disruption on a micro level leading to floater precipitation in the gel area

Not a bad idea but considering that even vitreoretinal ophthalmologists (trained medical professionals) say floaters aren't caused by lasers, then wouldn't it be a little misleading?

But I agree that it seems highly coincidental that we both got floaters from potential laser exposure. Additionally, a small number of other members have mentioned getting floaters as well after laser exposure.

Also doodero, can you link me to the other posts that had individuals with similar experiences to ours? Maybe I can get a group started with everyone in our shoes. I am willing to fund the research that could lead us to helping our situation.

 

[Handsomeboy]

Pin what? Pin a thread with unprofessional posts about something no one here is qualified to give advice about? No if anything this thread needs to be closed. The warning was posted by encap and that is that as far as I am concerned.
In fact that warning is now in my signature. Best advice you can give to someone.

Why would the thread need to be closed? I am trying to ask for help and seeing any answers even if wrong are always a blueprint to bounce ideas off of. Also, his post (encap) does not help as we both (doodero) and I have been to multiple opthalmologists and retinal specialists and their answers did not satisfy. Also, I myself am a medical doctor. I don’t even know the answer hence I asked this question. Instead of shutting down every sincere question that comes your way, please put your ego aside and understand there are people who are exhausting all options to look for the solutions and are open to correct or misinformation. We are all intelligent to decipher the information for ourselves, Unown.

 

[RedCowboy]

>>>Warning<<<


"If you think you need medical help or attention for an eye injury or any other medical problem, you probably do."

"If you have been hit in the eye with a laser and feel you have suffered any type of eye injury as the result of an accident with a laser that may need medical opinion or treatment, go to a hospital Emergency Room and/or consult a qualified Board Certified MD Ophthalmologist ASAP.

LPF is a laser hobbyist website, not physicians, and cannot give any medical or legal advice.

No professional medical or legal advice is available or possible on LPF"

For additional information see laserpointersafety.com here:
Laser Pointer Safety - What to do if you are hit by a laser pointer or laser pen

 

[Handsomeboy]

Did you read any of the posts? Clearly this is not an emergency as the topic in discussion is floaters that precipitated coincidentally with speckled laser reflection in November (4 months ago). I am a medical doctor and have been to a retinal specialist as well as general ophthalmologist (who was extremely incompetent since he had no idea what was going on and could only refer. I am not even specialized in ophtho and I knew more than him because I had researched my situation prior to the appointment). Your generic “warning” post does not apply here. But thanks anyways. I am looking for any type of advice, professional or unprofessional is appreciated, which seems to be what these helpful nice people on this forum would, no doubt be happy to indulge in if possible.

 

[Handsomeboy]

Can we pin it for all people that want to buy high power lasers without goggles and training?

Also, I did buy goggles (did not use the cheap knockoffs that were provided with the laser) and used it for the majority of the time. I took them off briefly for the 10 seconds and the reflection of a speckled laser off the wall was what I was exposed to. Not the smartest thing obviously in hindsight. I did have a small floater that started appearing in my lower left eye about 4 months prior to this incident. The laser being so coincidentally timed though, still not sure if it was my natural myopia aging process or the laser, or possibly the laser that accelerated an inevitable genetic condition. Either way, I’m asking to see if the laser caused it hoping it wasn’t the case for my own peace of mind. But regardless of the reason, the outcome (floaters) is what I want solved. Compiling all available or future testing options: YAG, vitrectomy and nano bubbles. If anyone has any other suggestions please give a shout-out. Will gladly pay for information. Inbox me.

 

[Handsomeboy]

Not sure what to say. If ophthalmologists can't find anything wrong then it would be almost impossible to prove. But yes I get your frustration. I have seen an optometrist and three ophthalmologists. Everything looks fine they say.

Maybe in the future, there will be more studies about the photochemical effects of laser on the vitreous. But until then, it seems like there may be a lack of understanding about the formation of eye floaters due to lasers.

Also, like you, the retinal specialist said my vitreous looked completely clear. I do have some lattice formation in my left eye which is indicative of possible impending retinal tear later in life. Also, I just mentioned above, 4 months before our coincidental timing of our ill fated laser reflection to floaters, I had already, for the first time ever in June that same year noticed one tiny floater in my left eye. But after the laser speckle reflection in November, I now have multiple floaters in both eyes.