Thanks to Airsoft GI's posting on Facebook, a report on the rise of airsoft eye injuries in children has been published by the Journal of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (JAAPOS). Well, I guess it's time again to write about eye injuries as a reminder to airsoft players that the problem still persists and we should collectively be concerned.
As blogged by Scope of Stanford Medicine, there were over 3,000 children treated for eye injuries for "non-powder" guns between 2010 and 2012. These injuries were severe enough for them to be sent to hospital emergency rooms. "Non-powder" guns are paintball, BB, pellet, and airsoft guns and these caused more injuries as compared to fireworks and sports such as baseball, basketball, etc.
However, going over the report, it's a bit problematic to really determine if airsoft is the bigger culprit amongst the "non-powder" guns as the researched have lumped BB, pellet, and airsoft guns together. We know that airsoft guns do not usually cause permanent vision problems or even bigger eye damage as compared to the other "non-powder" guns.
The report takes note of the rising popularity of airsoft guns with dramatic sales increases but not in paintball guns, which many would probably interpret that airsoft is now outselling paintball in the USA (though that has to be verified by further research).
(An actual airsoft eye injury. You can read more about this incident and discussion at the Zero In forums.)
So with the ever vigilant airsoft community and airsoft fields that stress more than often on the need to wear eye protection when handling an airsoft gun, why is there a rise in the eye injuries to children?
Well, in a 2013 report according to Dr. Airsoft, Big-Box stores are documented as source of airsoft guns that were involved in eye injuries in children. Big-Box stores (e.g. Walmart) mainly sell to whoever wants to buy their products and do not usually involve explaining the safety requirements and hazards of airsoft guns as compared to specialty stores (airsoft retail shops). With the growing popularity of airsoft and easy access to these at Big-Box stores where children can just tag clueless parents to buy them airsoft guns, it's a recipe for disaster. The proposal was to ban the sale of airsoft guns outside of specialty stores.
Furthermore, most of the eye injuries usually happen outside airsoft fields and facilities where there are very strict rules in safety. Most eye injuries in children happen at home or neighborhood when they are left unsupervised by adults. It is best to store the airsoft guns away under lock and key by parents and will only the children to play with airsoft guns under their watchful eyes.
The airsoft community should never tire to explain the need for eye protection when using airsoft guns, in and out of airsoft fields. For airsoft YouTube Channels, we highly recommend to airsoft personalities to always emphasize on the need for safety at the beginning or end of their videos and for them to wear eye protection when doing reviews.