Health risks(flash)

salixius

salixius

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niki
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Hi there just a query really in regards to alot of use of flash photography used on the same regular people..especialy children..

should i be aware of any? will it affect a young childs brain development?

what usage do you reccommend on the same person...say a week or month?

iv been flashing away..and it happened to cross my mind in regards to my 19month old child..

any advice or info..greatly appreciated

Also can it cause fits?

niki
x
 
There are no direct health risks at all. Obviously flashes are bright but even looking directly into it when it fires wont damage the eyes as its such a quick exposure to the light.

I suppose repeated flashes could cause an epileptic fit if someone suffers from epilepsy but of course that's common sense to avoid it (that's why the news will alway give you warning if a report contains it).
 
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Theres no risk at all with using a flash with your baby photos. If your baby is epileptic I'd ask your doctor about it, else go for it
 
No over the years I have checked with several pediatricians, all have said theres no problems even with newborn children, indeed many hospitals photograph the newborn for their own records and all I have seen used flash.
The epileptic risk regards photosensitive epilepsy, not only is this rare but is normally trigered by rapid flashing rather than a few odd flashes.
 
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odd jim said:
I suppose repeated flashes could cause an epileptic fit if someone suffers from epilepsy.
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Not all forms of epilepsy are photosensative and ones that are require somewhat specific frequencies of flashing.

Jus sayin' :)
 
Thanks for feed back so far..as far as i know there is no epilepsy in her genetics from either side..although her father has hardly seen her at all..not sure where he is..But during the pregnancy i did ask his mother for gentic history..to pass onto midwife..epilepsy wasnt one of them.I was concerned about eye and brain development..due to her age..and brain being a sponge at this age..Also wasnt sure if repeated flash would trigger epilepsy in any way.
But thanks guys you have cleared my concers up and i feel loads better now

thankyou
Niki
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Pegasus2 said:
Not all forms of epilepsy are photosensative and ones that are require somewhat specific frequencies of flashing.

Jus sayin' :)
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I didnt realise there were different forms of epilepsy..is this specific condition rare as one of the other op had stated..What kind of frequency ..if i should be extra safe? or even know for the future regarding anyone..children are my main worry..
Maybe im being completely worried for nothing..but i think if a pediatric..has disscussed this its more than likely going to be safe than not..
We wasnt allowed flash in our hospital..dont know wether the nurses did it..they probs did..was more of a case of not disturbing people sleeping i think.

niki
x
 
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Frequencies differ with people and the type of epilepsy they have. Some types can be brought on by hyperventilating or to much of certain addatives found in foods & drink, others are photosensative, some people know they are about to have a sizure others do not. Some people are potentialy epileptic, even without a family history. I'm not a doctor but I was a previous epileptic. I believe photosensative epilepsy is rarer than other types but don't hold me to that.

I think you are worrying unduly, very much so. Just bounce flash with a diffuser if you are that worried, if thats an option.

Like Wayne said, you would probably need a stroboscope to cause a photosensative seisure in someone.
 
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Pegasus2 said:
Frequencies differ with people and the type of epilepsy they have. Some types can be brought on by hyperventilating or to much of certain addatives found in foods & drink, others are photosensative, some people know they are about to have a sizure others do not. Some people are potentialy epileptic, even without a family history. I'm not a doctor but I was a previous epileptic. I believe photosensative epilepsy is rarer than other types but don't hold me to that.

I think you are worrying unduly, very much so. Just bounce flash with a diffuser if you are that worried, if thats an option.

Like Wayne said, you would probably need a stroboscope to cause a photosensative seisure in someone.
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Thanks for getting back to me..i probably am worried for nothing..didnt help i read an article on the internet regarding flash and babies..but was more directed to under 3 months..but thanks for the information..its enough to get me going on a read about it..i think il limet my strobe use a little..but no,im not so worried now(i tend to be a worrier anyway)

thanks again
niki
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salixius said:
I didnt realise there were different forms of epilepsy..is this specific condition rare as one of the other op had stated..What kind of frequency ..if i should be extra safe? or even know for the future regarding anyone..children are my main worry..
Maybe im being completely worried for nothing..but i think if a pediatric..has disscussed this its more than likely going to be safe than not..
We wasnt allowed flash in our hospital..dont know wether the nurses did it..they probs did..was more of a case of not disturbing people sleeping i think.

niki
x
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I'm with the others in saying that its totally safe - it takes a strobe or similar to trigger the types of epilepsy that are triggered by bright lights.

Of course you wouldnt fire a flash gun repeatedly into a baby (or anyone)s eyes at close range , but under normal use it will be fine - if it worries you use a flash bouncer or a diffuser but even without i'm sure theres no real problem.

most of us are genetically hard wired to be over protective of infants ( I've recently become an uncle and the ammount of paranoia that looking after my nephew inspires is frightening) and this will be even more true of parents, so its completely natural for you to be worried about anything that might have a negative impact on your daughter but in this case i think you can put your mind at rest.

(I'm not a doctor either but i did a lot of research on epilepsy when i was being tested for it when experiencing blackouts when i was 19 - the final diagnosis was exhaustion brought on by doing an 80 hour working week - I wasnt blacking out at all I was having micro sleeps)
 
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salixius said:
Thanks for feed back so far..as far as i know there is no epilepsy in her genetics from either side..although her father has hardly seen her at all..not sure where he is..But during the pregnancy i did ask his mother for gentic history..to pass onto midwife..epilepsy wasnt one of them.I was concerned about eye and brain development..due to her age..and brain being a sponge at this age..Also wasnt sure if repeated flash would trigger epilepsy in any way.
But thanks guys you have cleared my concers up and i feel loads better now

thankyou
Niki
x
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Flash would only damage the cones and rods if you put he flash right to the eye. Even that's not hugely dangerous as I've triggered the flash in my own face by accident on more than one occasion. I can't even begin to think how you could affect brain development with a flash lol
 
I've checked this several times. The honest, science based answer seems to be that nobody knows.

Lots of people on the web saying either that it's perfectly safe or it's very dangerous or generally that in moderation it should be fine but as far as I can find out nobody has ever done proper research on this (for fairly obvious reasons).

There have been a couple of studies in animals but nothing terribly scientific.

Anecdotal evidence suggests you'll be fine. But we've only really had built in flashguns for 45 years or so. And the number of flash pictures taken of children has increased massively in the past say 10 years. A child born in the UK today will generally have more pictures taken of them in the first 6 hours of life than their grandparents did in their entire life. Basically we're still in the test phase of this. Trials should be complete in 30 years or so.
 
Just ask any professional model, they are probably exposed to flash (pardon the pun) more than anyone, so other than the health and safety issue of being potentially blinded for a second or so post pop then they seem to be doing ok.
I would say that the focus finder light on some cameras would probably cause more problems with repeated exposure but again, its not like looking directly at the sun.
The obvious danger of triggering seizures is there. My dog has epilepsy and I've never triggered a fit through the use of flash although i am careful when it comes to running my three 250w strobes for lengthy sessions, he gets to sleep on the sofa then the lucky sod lol
 
Can't speak for babies, but I had my retinas photographed at the opticians the other day. They used flash, a bit uncomfortable at point blank range but no problem.
 
I always try and use a good mid range zoom with a flash when shooting babies, more to not stress them out with the flash than any risk of ill health. If I'm shooting close though I tend to bounce the flash anyway for a better lit photo.
 
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