In recent years, laser pointers are used in various fields, especially for educational purposes. They are also used frequently by children as toys. Laser- pointers are placed in class IIIA. Direct exposure to class III lasers can result destructive ophthalmic effects. Here we present a case of retinal damage induced by a green toy laser pointer in a 16-year- old teenager.

This study was a case report

We report the case of a 16-year-old boy who developed central scotoma a month after staring at the light beam of a laser pointer device. Duration time was 3-6 seconds and the device was classified as IIIA green laser pointer with less than 5 mW power. Clinical examination revealed normal corrected visual acuity and paracentral scotoma in the left eye with focal disruption of inner/outer segment junction of photoreceptor and mild thining of Retinal Pigmented Epithelium (RPE) of left macula.He was treated with oral corticosteroids and significant improvement was observed after 2 months of follow up.

Green laser pointers are commonly known as safe devices because of lower degree of power; however there remains a debate among ophthalmologists about their potential to cause retinal damage.