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American Academy of Ophthalmology Journal Report: Serious Eye Injuries Associated With Water Balloons |
SourceAmerican Academy of Opthalmology ForumsHealth, Safety, Nutrition and KidsRelated ArticlesAmerican Academy of Ophthalmology: For Eyes, Toys Can Mean TroubleUndetected Vision Disorders Are Blinding Children; Earlier Testing Needed To Preserve Good Eyesight American Academy of Ophthalmology: Check Your Child's Vision Every Two Years Information and news releases furnished by the members of PR Newswire, who are responsible for their fact and content. |
SAN FRANCISCO, May 7, 1997 -- A study in the May issue of Ophthalmology warns that water balloons launched by slingshots can inflict vision and life-threatening injuries. With maximum forces similar to those of rifle bullets, water balloon projectiles can perforate a cornea, rupture an eye globe, and/or fracture the bony orbit of an eye. Study author John D. Bullock, MD from Wright State University School of Medicine (Dayton, Ohio) and his colleagues determined the kinetic energies of launched water balloons. Maximum kinetic energies generated using slingshots were 176 to 245 joules in experimental studies and 141 to 232 joules in theoretical studies. "These energies are comparable to or greater than kinetic energies experienced with a variety of objects well known to cause serious ocular injury, including some rifle bullets," authors said. The authors also describe seventeen cases of patients with water balloon-related eye injuries. Specific eye injuries sustained by the patients ranged from traumatic cataract, retinal hemorrhages, and macular hole formation to eyelid lacerations and bony orbital wall fractures. To further demonstrate the impact of these toys, researchers launched a water balloon at a stationary watermelon 20 feet away. When hit by the balloon traveling at 40 meters per second, with a kinetic energy of 240 joules, the watermelon exploded. Authors concluded that launched water balloons represent a serious threat to vision. "It remains the responsibility of health care professionals to publicize such dangers, especially to parents who, presumably, have some influence over the purchase of such items," they said. "Indeed, the medical profession, legal profession, government, insurance industry, and general public should be aware of the enormous dangers proposed by the use of these elastic slingshots that are advertised, improperly, as 'toys.'" CONTACT: Melissa Hurley, Dane Pascoe, or Michelle Stephens, Media Relations Unit of the American Academy of Opthalmology, 415-561-8500, or media@aao.org, or website, www.eyenet.org |
