ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND/AIM: Self-defense products that use high-intensity light are being developed. The intense light generated by the high-power light-emitting diodes (LEDs) of such self-defense products causes temporary blindness. However, few studies have been conducted on the visual safety of their devices. We, therefore, evaluated the effects of strong light of a short duration on the eyes of rabbits in this study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The right eyes of 15 rabbits were irradiated for 5 s with a lighting device (25 W, 150 lm/W at 700 mA LED) and four eyes of two rabbits were non-irradiated as controls. Changes in the eye structure and function were evaluated before, and immediately, 30 min, 1 h, 24 h, 7 days and 14 days after light irradiation by full-field electroretinogram (ERG), slit-lamp biomicroscopy, and retinal camera. The thickness of the outer nuclear layer of the retina tissue was measured, and histopathological signs of retinal damage were analyzed. RESULTS: The ERG results showed that night vision was not affected. In day vision, the ERG waveform was temporarily affected immediately after light irradiation; however, it recovered within 24 h. No histopathological signs of damage were observed. CONCLUSION: Application of high-power LED light with short duration as used for self-defense was found to cause temporary phototoxicity, but safety was confirmed as vision recovered within 24 h.
