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Eye trauma caused by paintball pellets continues to be biggest
injury concern in paintball. Although safety equipment designed
to protect the eyes has significantly improved in the last few
years, the reported number of eye injuries treated in emergency
rooms continues to increase dramatically. These injuries
include bleeding between the lens and the iris (called hyphema),
detached retinas, scratches and contusions to the cornea,
cataracts and orbital fractures. In extreme cases, permanent
visual loss has occurred. Studies have shown that the pediatric
population accounts for more than 40% of eye injuries.
While eye trauma is the
perhaps the most common paintball related injury, it is also one
of the most preventable. In recent years, the quality of eye
protection has improved significantly with
full face
masks to protect the eyes, face, and ears becoming the
industry standard. Paintball safety equipment, including safety
masks, has been designed to withstand the impact force of
paintball pellets. Therefore, ordinary eyeglasses or safety
goggles are simply not enough. The American Society for Testing
and Materials (“ASTM”) has published the “Standard Specification
for Eye Protective Devices for Paintball Sports” (ASTM
Standard F1776-01). However, despite the continued
advancements in eye protection, the number of severe eye
injuries has not declined. This is, in part, because younger
players are playing unsupervised in their backyards, woods, and
in basements rather than at organized paintball facilities where
eye protection is both provided and required.
Another troubling trend is the number of eye
injuries being reported in “safe zones”. The safe zone is a
designated area far enough away from the playing field where
players can safely remove their equipment when not
participating. Incidents caused by unintended discharge have
occurred in safe zones causing severe eye injuries and blindness
when players fail to use a “barrel plug”. This is another
must-have piece of paintball safety equipment. It covers the
end of the barrel preventing the accidental release of a
paintball.
Players themselves have a responsibility to never shoot
a person who is not wearing proper protection. Likewise,
players should never remove their eye protection while on the
playing field even for a moment. Getting hit in the face is not
just a possibility in a game of paintball, but inevitable. The
common sense approach to preventing eye injuries is to ALWAYS
wear industry approved protective equipment when on the playing
field and when cleaning a paintball gun. Parents should always
visit the paintball site prior to letting their child play to
confirm that adequate safety guidelines are in effect. |
