Child suffers vision loss playing with laser toy

A child suffered vision loss after playing with a laser toy, prompting the state health services organisation (Okypy) on Wednesday to issue a warning over laser pointers and toys.

The accident in question was caused by laser pointers (laser torches) purchased from the internet.

The children using them were looking at the flashlight directly, which caused multiple burns to the retina, the lining at the back of the eye that contains the light-sensitive cells that allows us to see, Okypy said.

One child suffered vision loss in one eye. He was examined and diagnosed at the Ophthalmology Clinic of the Archbishop Makarios III Hospital.

In light of the incident, Okypy called on “everyone, especially parents, to check both the appropriateness and the use of the products in their children’s possession”.

In particular, it stresses, for laser toys, they should never be looked at directly or aimed at other people, mirrors or other reflective surfaces.

These guidelines apply to all laser toys.

The organisation added that the public must be particularly careful, as in the event of injury, there is little room for repairing the damage, as the laser beam remains powerful even if it is several metres away from its source.

In case of a laser related eye injury in children, Okypy urged people to immediately visit the Accident and Emergency Department, call 112 or the Ophthalmology Clinic of the Archbishop Makarios III Hospital at 22603550.