Would a projector’s light harm my child’s eyes?
NOV 24, 2014
Question:
We use an overhead projector at home as our TV set (it's mounted on the wall above the couch), and we have a 1-month-old son. One day when my son was about a week old my husband stood up from the couch and I saw his face come up right in front of the projector beam. I was standing right there so I shot my hand out to cover his eyes. Since then we have been very careful of not putting his face in the path of the beam, but I am still worried about that one time, plus possible future exposures if someone accidentally makes the same mistake. Can you please advise whether being exposed to a projector beam for a few seconds would do permanent damage to a newborn's eyes?
Answer:
The blink reflex to abnormally bright lights is already present at your son’s age and the eyes would have closed sufficiently and quickly. I would not be worried that this harmed your son’s eyes.