Australian optometrists have recently warned all parents in Australia that laser pointers cannot be considered boys. When they are used by children they can be quite dangerous.
This warning comes right after Ben Armitage, an optometrist from Hobart, examined a vision issue in a teen boy. According to Armitage the 14-yeard-old boy came to his office and later that day he used a laser pen and for a brief moment he pointed the laser pen directly to his eyes. As a result of that the teen lost 75% of his vision.
Armitage has pointed out that the use of laser pen resulted in burns in the retina especially in the back side of his eyes close to the macular area. Since the macular is known as region that controls detailed vision, the final impact on his vision was boosted. Even though he couldn’t see well, the boy said that he didn’t experience any pain. When asked for an opinion, Armitage said that hopefully once the swelling is reduced, the boy will get a chance to get back some of the vision.
But, what is shocking is that this problem can’t be solved completely, even if the boy uses glasses.
The burns created by the laser appeared in places where the teen won’t have vision in the future.
Think about your eyes as a camera and the macula plays the role of a camera sensor which is damaged. So, it doesn’t really matter what kind of lens you place after that, there are some areas where the vision won’t be good. The same goes for our eyes. Due to the fact that the boy suffered damage in this area, using glasses won’t affect his condition.
In this case, the central vision suffered the most and this area allows us to focus right in front of us, making us capable of driving, reading and analyze details. Glasses, surgeries and similar things can’t bring back his central vision.
So, think twice before you let your kid play with laser pens.
