Pellet Guns and BB Guns: Dangerous Toys
Trauma is one of the leading causes of blindness in young people. As the largest group of pediatric ophthalmologists in the southeast, we care for many eye and vision disorders, muscle imbalances, along with routine care for children. Unfortunately, we also treat a large number of eye injuries. Some of the more devastating ocular injuries in children can be avoided through prevention and public awareness. Severely debilitating and blinding injuries are on the rise from guns and other weapons often marketed as, and thought of as, toys. These include air powered pellet guns, BB, paintball guns and other weapons. Today some of these "air" powered guns deliver more force than some traditional powder guns. These weapons are responsible for over 20,000 injuries each year with over three-quarters occurring in children. This article aims to raise awareness in the Atlanta community of the threat these weapons pose to the health and vision of our children.
There has been a steady rise in the number of sight threatening injuries from weapons often considered toys. For decades, BB's and pellets have robbed countless children of a lifetime of vision. BB's typically are spherical balls made of copper, iron, steel, lead or a combination of these. The velocity with which these projectiles are fired has increased dramatically over the years as BB gun technology has progressed. These projectiles or bullets are devastating to eyes and other tissues. A BB can easily penetrate the skin and bones around the eye. A direct impact with the eye often leads to vision threatening injuries that require a lifetime of treatment and potential complications. Often BB's will enter the eye from the front and come to rest within the eye itself.
In the 80's and 90's paintball came on the scene. Paintballs were originally used as a method of marking cattle from a distance. It has evolved into a game or sport played with these toy weapons. The force delivered by a paintball is so severe that most paintball injuries to the eye result in permanent loss of vision.
Today we are faced with an even more popular and increasingly dangerous toy weapon; air powered ‘soft' pellet guns. Based on the injuries we have seen in the office we can assure the public that there is nothing "soft" about an air soft pellet. Air soft pellets or bullets are actually hard yellow plastic BB's. They are often shot from guns designed to be replicas of real firearms such as pistols and assault rifles. These pellets easily shred aluminum soda cans and other hard objects. The manufacturers and companies that promote air soft guns indicate that "if one is shot in the naked eye with an air soft gun, it will almost assuredly seriously injure their eye, and the player runs the risk of permanently losing their vision in that eye." Unfortunately, this weapon is often considered a toy designed for a sport and game and many people feel the pellets are safe for kids to shoot at each other. We have removed these pellets from skin, eyelids, eye sockets and eyes. They do not have to enter the eye to cause injury. An air soft pellet striking the eye can cause injuries that range from immediate loss of vision to a life-long risk of glaucoma, cataract and retinal detachment.
As parents and professionals it is our responsibility to protect our children. Our goal is to enlighten parents to the potential danger these "toys" pose to the vision and health of their children. What happened to the days when a broken cap gun was enough? When did it become a prerequisite that in order for our toy guns to be fun they had to shoot high velocity projectiles? Our children are citizens of this country and have the right to bear arms but they are our children and we must teach them war is not a sport and guns hurt people. Appropriate eye protection is necessary with all these "toy" weapons. It must be donned prior to leaving the house and not removed until all the weapons have been safely deactivated, stowed and the individual returns to the confines of their home. Abstinence from these weapons guarantees a child's safety.
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