What’s in a haircut? An optometrist believes that the wrong haircut can have a long-term impact on one’s vision. Tasmanian optometrist Andrew Hogan thinks that the hair should lay in a certain way to prevent vision loss. No haircut has the ability to affect one’s vision, LASIK clinic experts say.
Hogan is the director of the Optometrists Association of Tasmania. According to Hogan, an emo haircut leaves the bangs at a certain length. The bangs lay in a certain direction, often covering one eye. Hogan believes that this haircut causes lazy eye, which is referred to as “amblyotic” or “amblyopia” within the medical community. He likens the cut to an eye patch being worn, which causes the other eye to become weaker. It diminishes the capacity to recognize detail with the partially concealed eye. Many leading specialists in the field have weighed in on the likelihood of this occurring in those sporting the trendy cut.
Some say that children age 7 and under shouldn’t wear the cut. The developmental years leading up to this age is called a critical vision period. Other experts think that this cut is better suited for children over the age of 8. There is an additional critical vision period theory; some recommend that this type of cut be reserved for people over the age of 12.
Lazy eye usually occurs in the younger years of the child’s life. A physician will assess the child’s vision in several ways to diagnose the issue. The doctor will first gauge whether or not the child’s eye is able to capture all of the light that passes through. Both eyes will be evaluated to see if the vision is perfect in both eyes. Eye movement is another mechanism used to check the child’s vision. If any problems are detected, the child may be referred to a specialist.
Parents with concerns about the conditions can look for the following symptoms in their children. Blurred vision, troubled depth perception, double vision, squinting, and abnormal eye movement are all things to look out for in children in their earlier years.
