Overview

Parents and school teachers should be aware of the possibility of eye damage to children from hand-held laser pointers.

The light energy that laser pointers can aim into the eye can be more damaging than staring directly into the sun.

They are not toys, but are useful tools for adults that should be used by children only with adequate supervision.

Momentary exposure from a laser pointer, such as might occur from an inadvertent sweep of the light across a person's eyes, causes only temporary flash blindness. However, even this can be dangerous if the exposed person is engaged in a vision-critical activity such as driving.