I'm an idiot.

[Aryanenzo]

I Just bought a 532nm 100mw green laser today from a Bazar in turkey. It's one of those cheap Chinese ones. got it for about 15 US dollars. Everyone here points these things like crazy and so did I. while careful not to hit my eye or anyone's, i reflected off car headlights (no one inside) and other reflective surfaces without any cap on. I don't think the beam ever hit my eye directly (my entire vision should go green right?) although it might have for a split second from reflections but my left eye kind of hurts a little bit right now. I am extremely paranoid I might have damaged it even though my vision SEEMS to be exactly the same as it used to be. I may just be tired since its 2am and i came back from a club.
What is the nature of eye damage from lasers? does it happen immedietly after direct contact or take a while to see effects of damage?
edit: I did stare directly at the point where i was trying to burn a black plastic bag for over 30s....

 

[Somedude]

I Just bought a 532nm 100mw green laser today from a Bazar in turkey. It's one of those cheap Chinese ones. got it for about 15 US dollars. Everyone here points these things like crazy and so did I. while careful not to hit my eye or anyone's, i reflected off car headlights (no one inside) and other reflective surfaces without any cap on. I don't think the beam ever hit my eye directly (my entire vision should go green right?) although it might have for a split second from reflections but my left eye kind of hurts a little bit right now. I am extremely paranoid I might have damaged it even though my vision SEEMS to be exactly the same as it used to be. I may just be tired since its 2am and i came back from a club.
What is the nature of eye damage from lasers? does it happen immedietly after direct contact or take a while to see effects of damage?
edit: I did stare directly at the point where i was trying to burn a black plastic bag for over 30s....

Ile have what your having.

 

[Aryanenzo]

Ile have what your having.

What! I'm scared shitless right now let's be serious :yabbem:

 

[Ash]

I Just bought a 532nm 100mw green laser today from a Bazar in turkey. Everyone here points these things like crazy and so did I.

Very dumb.

I don't think the beam ever hit my eye directly (my entire vision should go green right?)

Nope. Your entire vision will not "go green" if you get lased by a green laser. You would most likely see a reddish "tint" on most things as your blue and yellow reading Cones would be the ones damaged.

might have for a split second from reflections but my left eye kind of hurts a little bit right now.

Sux. Look at this image (full screen) for a few seconds. Do you see any black dots?
Then check out this one: Amsler Grid If you see any white or black spots, you may have permanent and irreversible eye damage.

What is the nature of eye damage from lasers? does it happen immedietly after direct contact or take a while to see effects of damage?
edit: I did stare directly at the point where i was trying to burn a black plastic bag for over 30s.... (smart!)

Both. It can be instant or it may take a few days/weeks to manifest as a problem.
Either way, you should go see an ophthalmologist (eye doctor) immediately. :cryyy:

 

[Haloid95]

Usually it happens right after contact, but not always. As long as you don't have any blind spots or white spots you should be ok. I doubt the laser was actually 100mw for $15. Then you would be in trouble. And what you where doing was really stupid. There is so much reflective surfaces and risk of it hitting someone else. Is it worth a law suit or permanent blindness.\

Oh ya first thing to do is go see your local eye docter, he is the only one that knows for sure.

 

[Aryanenzo]

Very dumb.

Nope. Your entire vision will not "go green" if you get lased by a green laser. You would most likely see a reddish "tint" on most things as your blue and yellow reading Cones would be the ones damaged.

Sux. Look at this image (full screen) for a few seconds. Do you see any black dots?
Then check out this one: Amsler Grid If you see any white or black spots, you may have permanent and irreversible eye damage.

Both. It can be instant or it may take a few days/weeks to manifest as a problem.
Either way, you should go see an ophthalmologist (eye doctor) immediately. :cryyy:

I do not see black or white spots on either tests. In the second one I really don't know what I'm looking for but all I see is white and the black grid and my usual eye floaty things. No black spots or white spots. ( I do see the black box in the middle when i stare at it for a few seconds and look someone else on the screen though)

 

[joshshermannn1]

what kind of laser do you have?
if it has a small beam diameter, well than, that sucks.
but if it was a new wish pen, and probably under-spec since its 15$ you might be okay.
a friend of mine got hit by a 50mw laser, and he has loss of vision and color.
the black box is normal, the opthamologist should give you the same test and examine your eye for damage, theres plenty of threads about eye damage around here, and if you dont see black/white spots, or notice anything wrong with you vision, you'll be fine

 

[Aryanenzo]

what kind of laser do you have?
if it has a small beam diameter, well than, that sucks.
but if it was a new wish pen, and probably under-spec since its 15$ you might be okay.
a friend of mine got hit by a 50mw laser, and he has loss of vision and color.
black box in the middle of the grid is normal, and if you dont see black/white spots, or notice anything wrong with you vision, you'll be fine

It looks like this http://www.laserlands.com/images/5in1/YH6in1mid.jpg

 

[joshshermannn1]

dont worry about it too much i don't know that exact laser, but most pens of that sort have a large beam diameter, but listen to Ash and go to an opthamologist as soon as possible

 

[Aryanenzo]

Very dumb.

Nope. Your entire vision will not "go green" if you get lased by a green laser. You would most likely see a reddish "tint" on most things as your blue and yellow reading Cones would be the ones damaged.

Sux. Look at this image (full screen) for a few seconds. Do you see any black dots?
Then check out this one: Amsler Grid If you see any white or black spots, you may have permanent and irreversible eye damage.

Both. It can be instant or it may take a few days/weeks to manifest as a problem.
Either way, you should go see an ophthalmologist (eye doctor) immediately. :cryyy:

How obvious and noticeable should these black spots be?

 

[rangedunits]

It looks like this http://www.laserlands.com/images/5in1/YH6in1mid.jpg

TypicaL newwish pen.

 

[Elektrotechniker]

Dont worry about your vision. You should have not gotten any damage. I had reflections to my eyes a lot of times.

 

[Aryanenzo]

The pain in my left eye is gone now. I guess it was just fatigue. So far I don't notice any abnormalities in my vision in either eye...

 

[Moebius]

T_J said something about this back in October of last year and it stuck in my head so I looked for it.......

I caught a reflection off a ~20mW 532. I had a spot in my upper right eye for a while, now its a blind spot. If I look indirectly I can catch it sometimes depending on the light. I didnt think it could happen with such a low powered laser, but it did. I now have 3 sets of goggle. :beer:

What he said is true so don't believe the hype.
You have been warned.

 

[mfo]

Also, the pain was probably from the muscles in your eye straining to close your eyed lids tight.

 

[ShortyInCanada]

The part of the eye that would be damaged have no pain receptors. You would not feel anything. If you feel any pain it isn't laser eye damage.
Squinting while staring at the spot while burning would probably leave you with soreness/eyestrain.
Most likely you have been lucky and not caused any permanent damage based on what you have written so far. Don't rely on luck any more !
If you want to stare at a spot of laser light for any extended time get the proper safety glasses. Your eyes will thank you for it in 30 years by still working fine.
But as advised you might want to visit a proper eye doctor and get checked out anyways. It's never a bad idea to be sure.

And enjoy your laser.