Question: why do lazers effect our eyes

Joe Spencer answered on 20 Mar 2015:

Medical Laser eye surgery is used to fix eyes by removing various layers of skin and material to correct for stigmation in the lenses in the eye, and is well controlled and perfectly safe
Other lasers howeever can effect our eye in different ways, fortunately our blink reflex is usually good enough to prevent a laser from getting in our eye and causing damage.
There are various types and classes of laser, other more dangerous, like class IV which have to always been contained. Class I and II are pretty safe and usually low power output that an accidental exposure to the eye won’t cause harm.
However, lasers in eyes can still be dangerous, and also the colour (wavelength) can effect it. for example infra red lasers have a focal point further to the back of the eye than UV lasers and they can burn away the nerves that deliver information to your brain which could cause you to become blind in both eyes, rather than just the one you got a laser in.
UV lasers can cause damage to one eye if you have long exposure and perhaps even cancer.

Don’t be scared tho, overall, medical lasers are picked for their use as they are harmless and controlled by professionals who know what their doing.
High power lasers are controlled inside boxes that you can’t be exposed to
Laser pens are perhaps the most dangerous, but only upon long exposure (a few seconds) a quick accidental flash is unlikely to damage your eye as you will automaticall blink. But if you have a laser, do be safe and don’t go shining it in people’s eyes.