Ophthalmic societies protest use of rubber bullets, tear gas on citizens
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Thousands of Americans have taken to the streets to protest following the killing of George Floyd. The American Academy of Ophthalmology released a statement condemning the use of rubber bullets as a means of crowd dispersion.
The AAO statement said that while rubber bullets are classified as non-lethal, they are not non-blinding. “These life-altering eye injuries are a common result of urban warfare, rioting and crowd dispersion. We have seen it around the world, and we now see it in the United States,” the statement said, which asked law enforcement officials to immediately stop using rubber bullets to control and disperse protest crowds.
The statement follows a letter sent to the AAO by the University of California San Francisco department of ophthalmology and signed by more than 400 ophthalmologists nationwide. That letter concluded, “Though we are a nation in strife, we are not a nation at war, especially not on our own citizens who are advocating for change.”
After the AAO released its statement, the ophthalmologists behind the original letter wrote again, thanking the Academy for its strong message but urging it to make a strong and continued call to action for the collective eye health of the country.
“Across the country, multiple ophthalmic injuries have been reported from less-lethal weapons such as kinetic impact projectiles (‘rubber bullets’), fireworks, chemical irritants such as tear gas and pepper spray, and other sharp and blunt objects. These injuries include cases of open-globe injury, chemical keratitis, choroidal rupture, macular hole, retinal hemorrhage and orbital fracture,” Amy Coburn, MD, of Houston Methodist Blanton Eye Institute, told Healio/OSN. Coburn also sits on the executive committee of the American Society of Ophthalmic Trauma. “The AAO statement is important since it highlights the potential for ophthalmic injury from less-lethal weapons.”
The ASOT supports two more important initiatives: educating emergency medical personnel and firefighters on managing ophthalmic injuries in the field and highlighting the need for proper eye protection in and near protests because of potential injury. “We believe that monocular patients or those with prior eye trauma or surgery in particular should be using protective eye wear,” Coburn said.
Coburn said the ASOT is working to compile data on recent injuries attributable to crowd dispersal techniques, including rubber bullets and tear gas. Some known effects of rubber bullets include orbital fractures, bleeding in the eye and open-globe injuries with significant or total vision loss. Chemical irritants can cause decreased vision and significant long-term effects to the conjunctiva and cornea, including dry eye, light sensitivity and symblephara, Coburn said.
“Lastly, ophthalmologists should be prepared to manage ophthalmic trauma from a variety of less-lethal weapons,” Coburn said.
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