Trauma expert: Only way to avoid eye injury from fireworks to leave them to professionals
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Every summer brings fireworks, pushing the physical dangers and risks of these fiery explosions to the forefront of the conversation.
In 2020, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reported that 66% of firework-related injuries happened around July 4, with 15% of the injuries related to the eyes.
Fasika A. Woreta, MD, MPH, president of the American Society of Ophthalmic Trauma and director of the eye trauma center at Johns Hopkins hospital, spoke with Healio/OSN about the most common dangers eye care specialists see and why professional displays are a safer option.
Healio/OSN: How does the number of firework-related accidents that eye care specialists encounter change around this time of year compared with the rest of the year?
Woreta: At our eye trauma center at Hopkins and emergency departments throughout the U.S., there is significant increase in the number of firework injuries seen around July 4th each year. Unfortunately, fireworks can result in devastating eye and eyelid injuries which can be associated with significant vision loss.
Healio/OSN: What are the most common firework-related injuries?
Woreta: The severity of eye and eyelid injuries can vary. Unfortunately, when we see severe injury, it could be an open globe injury in which the eyewall is actually ruptured or a devastating thermal or chemical burn. We see a lot of eyelid injuries as well. The International Globe and Adnexal Trauma Epidemiology recently published a paper entitled “Eye injuries from fireworks used during celebrations and associated vision loss.” In this paper, we found that of 388 patients with firework-related injuries, almost one in five had severe vision loss at presentation.
Healio/OSN: These are injuries related to just the eye?
Woreta: Exactly. It is important to know that around 15% of firework injuries involve the eyes and 30% involve the head and neck. But fireworks can also lead to injuries of the hands and fingers, ears, and even result in death.
Healio/OSN: What should people do to limit injury when using fireworks?
Woreta: Leaving fireworks to the professionals is the only way to prevent injuries. Even sparklers, which burn at temperatures up to 2,000 degrees F, can be quite dangerous. For professionals dealing with fireworks, appropriate training and eye protection is critical.
Healio/OSN: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Woreta: Despite efforts to educate the public on the dangers of fireworks, we still see devastating injuries year after year. This highlights the importance of legislation to limit the sale of fireworks to the public. A lot of people are simply still unaware of the potential dangers. Whenever we see successful limits on legislation, we see a decrease in eye injuries.
References:
- Fireworks. https://www.cpsc.gov/Safety-Education/Safety-Education-Centers/Fireworks. Accessed June 24, 2022.
- Hoskin AK, et al. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2022;doi:10.1007/s00417-021-05284-z.
- Rockets red glare: Standards for public fireworks shows promote safety on July 4th. https://www.ansi.org/news/standards-news/all-news/2010/07/rockets-red-glare-standards-for-public-fireworks-shows-promote-safety-on-july-4th-02. Accessed June 24, 2022.
For more information:
Fasika A. Woreta, MD, MPH, can be reached at email: fworeta1@jhmi.edu.
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