The Royal College of Ophthalmologists
17 January 2014
STUDY HIGHLIGHTS DANGERS OF NOVELTY LASER PRODUCTS WHEN
MISUSED
A recent study raises concerns over potential damage to vision from beams emitted by
novelty laser products
‘Toy’ Laser Macular Burns In Children published in Eye today, the scientific journal of
the Royal College of Ophthalmologists is the first case series study of paediatric
patients who were seen for injury to their eyes due to misuse of novelty laser
products. All the patients were from Sheffield and aged between 8 and 15 years old.
The study, conducted over 18 months, by leading Consultant Ophthalmologists at the Royal
Hallamshire Hospital and The Children’s Hospital, Sheffield, raises concerns that some
classes of laser novelty products, can cause significant damage to vision if used incorrectly,
resulting in mild to severe long-term vision damage. Whilst these types of laser products are
useful commercial and educational devises, if misused they can cause damage to eyes.
One of the young patients, an eight year old boy, has been left with permanent laser scars,
visible at the centre of his vision as a result of a laser beam momentarily being flashed in his
eye for no more than a few seconds. This has dramatically reduced his vision which has
dropped to 3/60 (normal vision is 6/6). He can now only read the largest letter on a standard
Snellen chart from 3 metres, whereas a person with normal vision can do this from 60
metres.
Lead author of the study, Mr Fahd Quhill, Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon and Senior
Lecturer at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, comments on the effect of these laser
injuries, “Misuse of these laser products can lead to irreversible damage to the eye. The
retina is a very sensitive part of the eye and once damage is done, it is irreparable. This can
impact on children’s futures with normal activities being compromised such as reading,
recognition of faces, driving or playing sport.”
The Royal College of Ophthalmologists welcomes the study as it raises the need to
educate the general public and retailers about the risks associated with the misuse of laser
products. Professor Harminder Dua, President of the Royal College added, “We take
ocular public health very seriously and important research studies undertaken by our
members helps to raise awareness of potential public health issues. We welcome support
from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents who is also concerned about this
particular issue.”
Sheila Merrill, public health adviser at the Royal Society for the Prevention of
Accidents (RoSPA), said “We welcome the publication of these case reports relating to eye
injuries suffered by children who had played with a laser. This information raises some
important points for further investigation and it is extremely timely, given that a working party
from RoSPA’s National Home Safety Committee is due to discuss laser devices and their
potential to cause injury later this month. For laser products that are not toys, we urge that
they are only used for the purpose for which they are designed. In line with RoSPA’s existing
toy safety advice, we advise that toys are only purchased from recognised retailers and that
parents and carers ensure they are marked with the CE mark - a European toy safety
symbol.”
Legislation and Standards (British Standard on Laser Safety (BS EN 60825-1:2007) cover
the manufacture and supply of laser products in the European Union and group lasers into
‘Classes’ according to their potential for harm. The former Health Protection Agency, now
part of Public Health England (PHE) advise that laser products sold to the general public
for use as laser pointers should generally be restricted to class 1 or 2 devices (laser power
less than 1mW) and be accompanied by sufficient information on their safe operation.
Mr Quhill added “One of the laser pointers that caused the retinal damage in one of our child
cases was 72mW and all measured were more than 40mW of power and thus Class 3B.”
Commenting on the publication in ‘Eye’, Dr John O’Hagan of the Centre for Radiation,
Chemical and Environmental Hazards, Public Health England said, “For many years we
have been concerned about the availability of these lasers. The markings on the devices and
the packaging are often misleading. Output powers may be considerably higher than
marked. There are European proposals to control the sale of handheld laser products that
may cause injury. However, these proposals will only be relevant to products placed on the
market in Europe; they will not cover personal imports over the internet from outside the
European Union.”
## Ends ##
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. The macula is the light sensitive tissue within the retina at the back of the eye and is very
important for vision. Disease of the macula is often referred to as ‘maculopathy’
2. The study ‘’Toy’ Lasers Causing Macula Injuries in Children’ was conducted at the
following hospitals by Consultant Ophthalmologists.
a. Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield - Mr Fahd Quhill, Miss Naz Raoof,
Mr TKJ Chan, Mr NK Rogers, Dr Imran Haq
b. Sheffield Children’s Hospital, Sheffield - Dr W Abdullah
c. Royal Bolton Hospital, Bolton - Mr Simon Kelly
3. The published paper appeared in ‘Eye’, the scientific journal of the Royal College of
Ophthalmologists on 17th January 2014 at
http://www.nature.com/eye/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/eye2013315a.html
4. More toy safety advice and information is available from the Royal Society of the
Prevention of Accidents at
http://www.rospa.com/homesafety/adviceandinformation/product/toy-safety.aspx
5. The Health Protection Agency (HPA), now part of Public Health England, issued
guidance on the type and suitability of lasers. Class 1 has low output and is suitable for
use as a novelty product, Class 2 laser pointers are suitable as training aids in
commercial and educational situations whilst lasers above Class 3R are potentially
dangerous and are not suitable for general use
http://www.hpa.org.uk/web/HPAweb&HPAwebStandard/HPAweb_C/1195733794576
6. A Snellen chart is an eye chart used by eye care professionals to measure visual acuity
About The Royal College of Ophthalmologists
The Royal College of Ophthalmologists received its Royal Charter in 1988. The College sets
the professional standards for eye doctors to benefit patient eye care and health. We support
our 3,500 members with examinations, education, training and research to help further their
continuous professional development and maintain the practice of ophthalmology to the
highest standards.
We are not a regulatory body, but we work collaboratively with government, health and
charity organisations to recommend and support improvements in the co-ordination and
management of eye care both nationally and regionally.
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