Health
Egg-throwing prank can cause serious eye injuries
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Oct. 16, 2006
Throwing raw eggs at people is more dangerous than a prankster may think, according to research in the Sept. 20 Emergency Medicine Journal.
Researchers studied 13 patients who had sustained eye injuries as a result of being hit by an egg and found a lengthy list of damage, including tears and severe bruising of the retina; disruption of the light receptor cells in the eye; and raised internal pressure, which was capable of damaging the optic nerve and causing permanent loss of vision.
"The dimensions of an egg are similar to those of a squash ball, with a considerably greater weight, meaning that eggs as missiles can easily fit into the orbital rim, causing severe blunt injury even when thrown by hand," the authors wrote.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2006/10/16/hlbf1016.htm.
