Optical and laser mice eye safety

[Sarevok]

Can accidentally staring into the light emitted by a laser or optical mouse cause damage ? If a short expouser is safe for adults then what about small children ? They might look into the glowy thingy for extended periods if it catches their attention.

[Broomstick]

Brief, accidental glances at the red light laser light in computer mice shouldn't be harmful. At most, you'll get a temporary "dazzle" like that induced by a camera flash. Children's eyes are neither more or less vulnerable than adults'.

However, prolonged staring into any laser is not a good habit to acquire.

[noncredible]

Laser mice and mice that have the light on the bottom instead of the ball are two different things, right? If so, why not use the ones with a regular light on the bottom? They work perfectly fine. I know this isn't really related to whether they are safe or not, but it is related to laser mice.

[RedImperator]

Optical mice just use a red LED; it's dazzlingly bright, but I don't think it can cause actual harm. So far as I know, laser mice all use Class 1 lasers, which by definition you can shine directly into your eyes all day long and not harm anything.

[noncredible]

Ah, thanks for clarifying that.