A study published in the August 2000 issue of Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, concludes that serious eye injuries in children may result from automotive air bag deployment, and that infants and children should travel in the rear seat of automobiles to minimize their risk of injury.
In this study, Eye M.D. (ophthalmologist) Gregg T. Lueder, MD, reviewed medical records of seven children injured by air bags, and concludes that serious ocular injuries in children may result, though most resolve without detrimental long-term consequences. However, Dr. Lueder explains that serious injury may result if the child is too near the air bag when it deploys. “In infants,” he says, “the increased mortality risk results from the use of rear-facing infant car seats in the front passenger seat. This places the infant’s head too near the deploying air bag. In older children who are unbelted or who use lap-only seat belts, the head may move forward during impact, resulting in head and neck injuries.”
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The most serious consequences of these injuries were cataracts and glaucoma. Other injuries were: blood in the front chamber of the eye; alkali burn; temporary loss of consciousness and visual acuity; eyelid laceration; black eye; swelling and hemorrhage of blood vessels under the outer surface of the eyeball; corneal lesions and abrasions; and inflammation of the iris. For more information on air bags and ocular injuries, visit the Academy’s Web site at www.eyenet.org.
