Hit in eye with 1000mw 445nm blue laser

[GAtkins]

VLT seems a tad on the low side!:crackup:

I have a set of these and I can confirm that they stop everything in the visible light spectrum plus ir and uv. They even have a fairly high od for x-rays - although they do let some pass.

:crackup:

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

VLT seems a tad on the low side!:crackup:

:crackup:

Exactly the point I was trying to make though. You can't have everything, there is always a trade off where safety is concerned, and while goggles are a MUST in a lot of situations, it's a systematic approach to safety that is truly needed.

 

[Benm]

Obviously... but freak accidents still happen. I consider the one that started all this to be a matter of extremely bad luck, not stupidity or unsafe behaviour. Sure, in hindsight you can envision a portable laser rolling off a surface, but what are the chances it will hit you in the eye?

Using goggles to assert the beam never hits your eyes is a good precaution, but once you are sure of this you can take them off. A show projector mount could also come down off a ceiling briefly exposing someone in a random location to the full brunt of the output resulting in serious injury. From another perspective, you could also be standing right under that ceiling mount with your goggles on

 

[laserweed]

god I hope you are ok mate, scares the shit out of me lasers do kind of wishing i never ordered mine

 

[tsteele93]

god I hope you are ok mate, scares the shit out of me lasers do kind of wishing i never ordered mine

Well, you can always sell it here when it arrives!

 

[Bluefan]

Obviously... but freak accidents still happen. I consider the one that started all this to be a matter of extremely bad luck, not stupidity or unsafe behaviour. Sure, in hindsight you can envision a portable laser rolling off a surface, but what are the chances it will hit you in the eye?

Using goggles to assert the beam never hits your eyes is a good precaution, but once you are sure of this you can take them off. A show projector mount could also come down off a ceiling briefly exposing someone in a random location to the full brunt of the output resulting in serious injury. From another perspective, you could also be standing right under that ceiling mount with your goggles on

WRONG!

You're suggesting taking chances because the chance of being hit in the eye is low anyway. Pointers are inherently unstable. Everything near the beam should be either not specular reflecting or impossible to fall over. There are so many things that can go wrong, goggles are needed when working with a laser. There are situations where it's safe to take off your goggles, this one wasn't and even though an accident is unlikely it could have been seen beforehand.

 

[Ash]

god I hope you are ok mate, scares the shit out of me lasers do kind of wishing i never ordered mine

I hope you purchased safety glasses.

dammm, dude, thats it, im buying goggles for every single wavelength there is.

One for each? That sounds expensive. Link to all laser colors

I prefer one set for many lasers. (of course not ALL) link :tinfoil:
There is low Visible Light Transmission (confined to red-orange) through them, but they are the pair I wear most.

 

[Elektrotechniker]

So any updates here? xoul, how is your vision now?

 

[Dr T]

Sorry to hear about your accident.

I'm a physician (not an eyespecialist) and could have been the guy you met at the ER who redirected you to the ophtalmologist. I don't know much about lasers, but I do know some things about the eye.

The reason your pupil was dilatated after the surgery was the medication you where given. The eye is poorly supplied by blood vessels, but instead supplied by a continous flow of clear eye-liquid that do not hinder the vision of the eye. This liquid is produced behind the iris and flows through the pupil and is then reabsorbed in the front chamber of the eye. Swelling after surgery may stop this flow and thereby causing damage. Because of this, patients are given medications that dilate the pupil post-surgery.

Xoul, best of luck to you and kudos for sharing your story.

Now I'm of to learn about lasers.

 

[DrSid]

If only more people got to read this thread as first laser related stuff ..

 

[xoul]

So any updates here? xoul, how is your vision now?

It's pretty much the same. I still have the blind spot, and was effectively told by the opthamologist that it would probably be there the rest of my life. That doesn't bother me TOO much, since it isn't very inhibiting.

 

[Elektrotechniker]

It's pretty much the same. I still have the blind spot, and was effectively told by the opthamologist that it would probably be there the rest of my life. That doesn't bother me TOO much, since it isn't very inhibiting.

Wow. That sucks. Either way, YOU are the only one who can tell how bad it is. I'm still admiring you for dealing with it like a sir. I would piss my pants, literally.

 

[linh]

Thank you for sharing your story, Xoul. It's a wake up call for anyone who is not taking the danger of laser seriously.
I hope you'll get well soon

 

[Tman]

wow....

 

[Sevensixtwoby39]

Yeah it's pretty bizarre.

 

[Lucian]

EDIT #2:
Take-aways: Rushing to the ER is not always the best option. It's better to see a specialist that can actually help you. The total outcome of going to 2 ERs was having to pay about $1000 (this is after insurance covers their part) and being told to come back during regular hours to see a retinal specialist. So, unless your just loaded to the gills with money and/or paranoid, I would suggest waiting until you can see a specialist.

Both ERs didn't seem it to be necessary to take any immediate action, so I'm basing these suggestions on end results - I paid $1000 for advice.

You may have paid 1,000 for advice but you STILL should have gone. My personal advice would be to go immediately. Even if you just lost 1,000 dollars for no help that 1,000 fee might save someone else's vision, or partial vision, or at least keep it from swelling and causing brain damage or any other millions of possibilities. Sometimes you can't afford to go, but you can NEVER AFFORD NOT TO GO.

Also, this is just my personal opinion but I would have demanded to see a specialist and one way or the other STILL been sitting in front of the office the next morning before they opened.

---

These high powered lasers are more dangerous than guns... Because people can be a little more careless with the laser since it doesn't seem like a dangerous weapon. But should always be treated as such.

I'm terribly sorry for your mishap, I hope everything goes well for you.