COLUMBUS – Within days of the release of a report that shows a dramatic rise in eye injuries due to BB guns and other “non-powder” firearms, a story from Indiana illustrates the problem tragically.
Authorities say an 8-year-old girl has died after a younger child accidentally shot her in the eye with a BB gun. Deborah Kay Schwartz was taken to a hospital in Grabill, northeast of Indianapolis, in critical condition on Thursday and an obituary says she died Friday.
Researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital found that “non-powder gun-related eye injuries” – such as BB guns, pellet guns and paintball guns (see above) — increased by almost 170 percent between 1990 and 2012, despite a slight decrease in eye injuries overall, said Dr. Gary Smith, director of Nationwide’s Center for Injury Research and Policy and senior author of the study, published online Monday in Pediatrics.
During the 23 years included in the study, Smith says almost 442,000 children were treated in emergency departments for sports- and recreation-related eye injuries, an average of more than 19,200 children annually or about two every hour.
Increased education, as well as adoption of consistent rules that require the use of eye protective equipment, can help prevent many of these injuries, said Tracy Mehan, manager of Translational Research at the center.
“We want children to participate in sports. Wearing appropriate eye protection will help prevent injury and keep them in the game,” Mehan said.
When using BB guns, pellet guns and paintball guns:
Always wear eye protection that meets appropriate national standards
Teach children to shoot BB and pellet guns at paper or gel targets with a backstop that will trap BBs or pellets and prevent ricochet.
Make sure that parents and children are educated on proper safety precautions
Ensure that there is always appropriate adult supervision.-Source: Center for Injury Research and Policy, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
The two most common sports and recreation activities associated with eye injury were basketball and baseball/softball, the study said.