Is It Possible For A Three Month Old Baby To Go Blind When Photographed With A Flash?
From the moment a baby is born and enters a family’s life, there are endless reasons to take thousands of photos, many of which are taken with flash.
Of course, all relatives want to get to know the baby immediately and capture this moment with a photo. Most don’t care whether the camera’s flash is on or off.
But what negative could happen? Would you worry if someone told you that your baby could go blind if they were photographed with a flash ?
This is exactly what a family from China heard when they went to a hospital with their son. Her baby had visual problems after taking a flash photo of him. This news, of course, caused great alarm in the media.
The news spread across various media, alleging that a three-month-old baby became blind in one eye and suffered significant damage in the other eye because a family member took a photo with a flash.
Apparently the baby’s father had taken a close-up of his child on his cell phone and forgot to turn off the flash. After that, the child immediately started crying, and the parents decided to take him to the hospital. The diagnosis described was then made there.
Many people now wonder: “Can a baby go blind if they are photographed with a flash?”
Contradicting theories
The Daily Mail confirms the news from China, stating that the parents went to the hospital and the doctors found that cells in the retina had been damaged. This is the part of the eye where rays of light center to form the image.
Contrary to this medical theory, other experts believe that the lightning emitted by various electronic devices poses no risk.
“The lightning flash from the cell phone could not have been the cause,” say the experts who are investigating the case. Accordingly, the baby already had vision problems, which the doctors only discovered after the photo was taken.
Yahoo Parenting then decided to interview the chief of pediatric ophthalmology and ophthalmic genetics at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia.
Dr. Alex Levin says this:
“If this story were true, there would be a lot of blind babies. We often operate on small babies for at least 30 minutes with very bright light on the most sensitive areas of their eyes without going blind. The retina is built to last, and this type of light is very unlikely to cause damage. “
Also, referring to the camera’s flash, he adds, “To say that blindness is caused by taking a photo is a mistake. It is absolutely impossible for a flash photo to cause such damage, as the flash diffuses the light and is therefore harmless. “
However, if it is a laser pointer, for example, then the whole thing looks different. Because this concentrates the light and can therefore be harmful to the eye.
It’s the same with the sun: if we look into the sun for just a short moment, nothing will happen to us. However, it is dangerous to look at the sun for long periods of time. However, a baby would never do this because the light would interfere with them and make them turn away or close their eyes.
The light from the flash is harmless
In the blog “Preventing Blindness”, Dr. Livia Romero, Ophthalmologist Coordinator of the Venezuelan Pediatric Ophthalmology Group, something interesting:
Another ophthalmologist explains the following in a forum of professional photographers:
“Flash does not harm a baby’s eyes. A photo can produce a flash with a light intensity of approximately 2000 lux.
Ophthalmologists who examine the retina of premature babies produce a light level five times higher than a flash. This can take a few minutes to get a close look at the baby’s retina. This light is not harmful to the baby. Furthermore, the lighting in an operating theater is around 25,000 lux and does not harm the baby. ”
So don’t worry if you want to take thousands of photos of your baby. And don’t worry if the flash is turned on, because it will definitely not harm your baby. The only thing you have to worry about right now is taking the perfect souvenir photo.
