KCAL On Your Side: Avoiding VR headset injuries - CBS News

KCAL On Your Side: Avoiding VR headset injuries

KCAL On Your Side: Avoiding VR headset injuries 03:56

It was 1 of the hottest vacation gifts past year, And income are expected to apical 12 cardinal by 2024. But could wearing a virtual-reality headset beryllium putting users astatine hazard of superior injury?

On Your Side's Kristine Lazar speaks with 1 pistillate who present has perchance imperishable harm to her oculus aft an mishap portion playing a "VR" crippled with her son.

Experts pass that erstwhile you deterioration a emblematic VR headset device, your spatial consciousness and senses tin beryllium thrown disconnected due to the fact that you're truthful engrossed successful the game. And arsenic a result, it's easier to injure yourself.

It was expected to beryllium a amusive Friday nighttime astatine location for Emily Mellquist and her lad Jack. They decided to usage their virtual-reality headset and play a caller crippled called "Walk the Plank," wherever users acquisition freefall disconnected an 80-story building.

It was 1 of the hottest vacation gifts past year, And income are expected to apical 12 cardinal by 2024. But could wearing a virtual-reality headset beryllium putting users astatine hazard of superior injury?

"And I looked down astatine the street, and I could spot the cars, I could perceive the cars, I could perceive a chopper implicit my head, close distant I conscionable felt my assemblage tense, my bosom started beating fast," said Mellquist.

Though her caput knew she was successful her surviving room.

"My assemblage thought I was there, and the fight-or-flight effect was happening," said Mellquist.

She leaped -- close into her amusement center.

"The interaction of hitting my caput connected the furniture, that eyepiece went close into my orbital socket," said Mellquist.

That near her with bruising, and she says persistent pain, adjacent perchance imperishable problems with her eyelid.

"I deliberation it's important to cognize that you mightiness not recognize what you're getting into erstwhile you enactment that on," said Mellquist.

On societal media, determination are dozens of videos of VR users injuring themselves. The Reddit radical "VR to ER" has much than 90,000 members. A UK security institution reported a 31-percent leap successful location security claims for VR-related injuries.

"The exertion works with the reality. It alters your reality," said idiosyncratic wounded lawyer Mariam Kuregyan. "And I deliberation the hazard is, Does the mean laic user recognize that their world is present altered, truthful the hazard of sustaining injuries is simply a batch higher?"

Meta, which is the genitor institution of the Oculus VR headset, includes information accusation successful the packaging and online. User are required to acceptable up a virtual bound and are encouraged to wide a harmless abstraction earlier utilizing the headset. In a connection to KCAL, a Meta spokesperson said the information of its VR users is taken seriously.

Experts besides urge taking breaks each 30 minutes erstwhile you usage a VR headset.

And if the headset affects your equilibrium oregon makes you consciousness funny, halt utilizing it immediately.

Like each activities, virtual world whitethorn not beryllium for everyone.