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Can LED Flashlight Shined In My Right Eye For About 2 Seconds Cause Damage?

Posted on Fri, 7 Jun 2024

Question: Last night, for about 2 seconds from within about 12 inches, an LED flashlight shined in my right eye for about 2 seconds. I generally seem OK except that if I cover one eye to test the other, I notice that the reading vision is reduced a bit in the right (compared to the left) when the words have a lot of glare. If there is no glare, it appears that the vision is about the same in both eyes. Occasionally, the right eye feels a very mild strain although I don’t know if that is just psychosomatic. Do I need to do anything? I have a regular eye exam scheduled in about 5 weeks anyway. Does this sound like I did anything serious to the eye?

Follow up: Dr. Dr. Erion Spaho (23 hours later)

I think the vision is a little worse in the right eye when there's a lot of glare, but I can still read small print.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Erion Spaho (12 hours later)

Brief Answer:
I think no permanent damage.

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

I have read your question, I saw the LED flashlight type that you mentioned too.

LED flashlights shining briefly in the eye can cause temporary problems with eyesight ranging from temporary blindness to mild vision distortions.

In most cases, these vision problems are temporary and subside entirely in a few days.

This is your case too, in my opinion.

In case of prolonged symptoms ( more than a couple of weeks) see your Ophthalmologist.

I hope this helps.

Feel free to ask if you have further questions.
Thanks.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. LAKSHMI