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According to what doctors say, it seems that a 9-year old boy from Greece permanently injured his left eye because he repeatedly looked straight into a laser pointer’s beam. After examination, doctors were shocked to discover a big hole in the boy’s macula, which is a very small area in the eye’s retina. It helps with seeing details in people’s faces, and with reading and driving. After imaging, it was revealed that the boy also had two more areas that were injured, right below the hole in the macula.
According to Dr. Sofia Androudi, who took part in the boy’s strange case, macula holes are usually treated through surgery. However, the risk is almost 100% for that person to develop cataract. In turn, this causes blurry vision which clouds the eyes’ clear lenses. However, the boy’s case was more complex. Because the damage to the macula was so serious and caused by laser burn, the nerves that absorb light were also completely destroyed. Unfortunately, even if the surgery were successful, the little boy would still lose his sight. It seems that the boy’s vision was at 100% in his right eye and at only 20% in his left and damaged one.
Boy ends up with hole in retina after looking at a laser beam
Dr. Sofia Androudi says that because children often do not tell their parents about certain problems, the boy must have injured his eye at least one year before coming to the doctor. The problem is that even if he had come in earlier, there still wouldn’t have been any remedy for him. About 18 months after doctors saw him, the boy’s vision was still as bad.
A laser is usually so powerful that is can act like a burn. This is why people shouldn’t look directly at laser beams. They might even end up with a blind spot right in the middle of the eye.
Image source: flickr
