Most ocular injuries related to Nerf-type gun projectiles have favorable prognoses
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Although most ocular injuries from Nerf-type gun projectiles are limited to the anterior segment and have good long-term visual outcomes, researchers strongly advise safety eye wear during use.
“As Nerf-type guns are widely used by children and adolescents, the public must be made aware of potential for serious ocular injuries,” Julia Maida, a student at Illinois College of Optometry (ICO), said in an online poster presentation as part of Optometry’s Meeting.
With limited data on prevalence, ocular findings and visual outcomes associated with these injuries, Maida and colleagues conducted a retrospective chart review of electronic medical records from 35 patients aged 3 to 56 years (average age, 24 years) at Illinois Eye Institute. None of the patients were wearing protective eye wear when they sustained their injuries, all of which were unilateral.
According to results, 70% of patients were diagnosed with anterior uveitis, 14% with corneal abrasion and 10% with edematous adnexa or eyelids. Other injuries included subconjunctival hemorrhage and hyphemia.
All 21 patients with anterior uveitis were treated with a topical steroid, and 11 were also given a cholinergic antagonist for comfort and pain relief.
The average best-corrected visual acuity at baseline was 20/30, ranging from 20/20 to 20/150, and all patients who attended their follow-up visit eventually returned to 20/20.
“Reports on this topic in the past have looked at individual cases, which typically led to worse ocular injuries with worse prognosis,” Samantha Rivet, study author and ICO student, said in the presentation. “In contrast to this, we noted that when looking at a larger patient pool, most of the injuries were limited to the anterior segment with a good overall visual prognosis and no long-term complications.”
She added, “With this being said, we’d like to advise consumers to use safety eye wear when using this product.”
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Lin J, et al. Ocular injuries and visual outcomes secondary to nerf guns. Presented at: Optometry’s Meeting; June 19-22, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee.
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