Doctors warn that bullets fired from such weapons can seriously damage eyesight.
In the family of British woman Sarah Smith, blasters are now under lock and key, and the boys are given them only under the supervision of adults and with the requirement to wear protective glasses. In winter, not even her son, but her husband was hit in the eye with a blaster bullet from a blaster at close range, when the parents were playing with the children. In addition to the fact that it was wildly painful, the woman saw nothing for about 20 minutes.
“I decided that I had lost my sight forever,” she recalls.
Diagnosis – flattening of the pupil. That is, the bullet just flattened it! The treatment took six months.
NERF blasters that shoot bullets, arrows and even ice cubes are the dream of most modern boys aged five and older. And this despite the fact that they are officially recommended for children from only eight years old. Their popularity, spurred by TV ads, is perhaps only slightly inferior to spinners. However, doctors warn: although this is a toy weapon, it carries a danger no less than a real one.
British doctors sounded the alarm. Patients complaining of eyesight began to contact them regularly. In all cases, they were accidentally hit in the eyes with such a blaster. The consequences are unpredictable: from pain and ripples to internal hemorrhage.
The stories of the British victims were described by doctors in an article published in the BMJ Case reports. It is difficult to say how many people were actually injured, but there are three such typical cases: two adults and an 11-year-old boy were injured.
“Everyone had the same symptoms: eye pain, redness, blurred vision,” the doctors describe. “They were all prescribed eye drops, and the treatment took several weeks.”
Doctors note that the danger of toy bullets is in their speed and force of impact. If you shoot at close range, and this happens in most cases, then the person can be seriously injured. But the Internet is full of videos where children are taught how to modify the blaster so that it shoots harder and farther.
At the same time, the manufacturer of blasters, Hasbro, in its official statement, emphasizes that NERF foam arrows and bullets are not dangerous when used correctly.
“But buyers should never aim in the face or eyes and should always use only foam bullets and darts designed specifically for these guns,” the company insists. “There are other bullets and darts on the market that claim to be compatible with NERF blasters, but they are not branded and may not comply with our safety guidelines.”
Doctors at the Moorfield Eye Hospital Emergency Room confirm that ersatz bullets tend to be tougher and hit harder. This means that the consequences can be much more serious.
In general, if you want to shoot – buy special goggles or masks. Only then can you be sure that the game will be safe.