TY - JOUR
T1 - Party foam-induced eye injuries and the power of media intervention
AU - Abulafia, Adi
AU - Segev, Fani
AU - Platner, Eva
AU - Simon, Guy J.Ben
PY - 2013/6
Y1 - 2013/6
N2 - Purpose: To describe the clinical features and treatment outcome of eye injuries sustained as a result of contact with artificial snow spray ("party foam"/"silly string") during 2 consecutive Israeli Independence Day celebrations. Design: Retrospective, multicenter, consecutive case series. Setting: Institutional. Intervention/Study Population: All patients who presented to 2 ophthalmology emergency services in 2007 and in 2008 with eye injury caused by contact with the foam. The medical records of the foam-induced eye injury cases were retrieved and analyzed. Data on injury type, comprehensive ophthalmic examination, and time to resolution were collected and analyzed. Main Outcome Measures: The assessed variables included the number of cases per year, injury type, visual acuity, treatment, and outcome. Results: A total of 96 patients (135 eyes) had suffered from foam-induced ocular chemical injuries during the 2 celebrations. Sex and laterality were evenly distributed in the study population. The mean ± SD age was 12.8 ± 2.14 years (range, 7-17 years). All patients suffered from chemical conjunctivitis (100%) and superficial punctate keratopathy (79%), corneal erosion (27%), and conjunctival erosion (5%). More patients were seen during 2007 compared with 2008 [85 (117 eyes) and 11 (18 eyes), respectively]. This reduction was directly attributable to increased public awareness because of media coverage (newspapers, radio, and national TV). Conclusions: Sprayed foam used in parties and public celebrations can cause mild-to-severe ocular surface injuries. Increased public awareness will inevitably reduce the use of this dangerous agent, but warnings need to be repeated yearly in the national media.
AB - Purpose: To describe the clinical features and treatment outcome of eye injuries sustained as a result of contact with artificial snow spray ("party foam"/"silly string") during 2 consecutive Israeli Independence Day celebrations. Design: Retrospective, multicenter, consecutive case series. Setting: Institutional. Intervention/Study Population: All patients who presented to 2 ophthalmology emergency services in 2007 and in 2008 with eye injury caused by contact with the foam. The medical records of the foam-induced eye injury cases were retrieved and analyzed. Data on injury type, comprehensive ophthalmic examination, and time to resolution were collected and analyzed. Main Outcome Measures: The assessed variables included the number of cases per year, injury type, visual acuity, treatment, and outcome. Results: A total of 96 patients (135 eyes) had suffered from foam-induced ocular chemical injuries during the 2 celebrations. Sex and laterality were evenly distributed in the study population. The mean ± SD age was 12.8 ± 2.14 years (range, 7-17 years). All patients suffered from chemical conjunctivitis (100%) and superficial punctate keratopathy (79%), corneal erosion (27%), and conjunctival erosion (5%). More patients were seen during 2007 compared with 2008 [85 (117 eyes) and 11 (18 eyes), respectively]. This reduction was directly attributable to increased public awareness because of media coverage (newspapers, radio, and national TV). Conclusions: Sprayed foam used in parties and public celebrations can cause mild-to-severe ocular surface injuries. Increased public awareness will inevitably reduce the use of this dangerous agent, but warnings need to be repeated yearly in the national media.
KW - Chemical injury
KW - Corneal erosion
KW - Party foam
KW - Silly string
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84879143336&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1097/ICO.0b013e31826cf315
DO - 10.1097/ICO.0b013e31826cf315
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C2 - 23132449
AN - SCOPUS:84879143336
SN - 0277-3740
VL - 32
SP - 826
EP - 829
JO - Cornea
JF - Cornea
IS - 6
ER -