Fireworks: boon or bane to our eyes?

Int Ophthalmol. 2019 Oct;39(10):2407-2411. doi: 10.1007/s10792-018-1054-4. Epub 2019 Mar 13.

Abstract

Fireworks are an integral aspect of national, cultural and religious festivals globally, featuring in a vast range of celebrations including Diwali in India and New Year's Eve in the USA. We have seen a trend in eye injuries related to the use of fireworks, with millions of people, of which a large proportion comprising children, are injured annually-and rather than falling, as one would hope, this number is remaining stable. A comprehensive study of the impact of firework-related injuries to the eye is not available, and the efforts to mitigate this are not widely discussed in the literature. This literature review therefore focusses on studying the impact of firework-related eye injuries, the effect of legislation on mitigating these injuries and their associated morbidity.

Keywords: Firecracker injuries; Injury; Prevention of ocular trauma; Trauma.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Blast Injuries / etiology*
  • Explosions* / legislation & jurisprudence
  • Explosions* / statistics & numerical data
  • Eye Injuries / etiology*
  • Eye Injuries / prevention & control
  • Holidays*
  • Humans