Ophthalmologists from the University of Cambridge, the University of Michigan and other scientific organizations have revealed the danger that flying champagne corks can pose to the eyes. The study, which reviewed the existing medical literature describing eye injuries, was published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).
Experts have found that getting the plug into the eye can lead to hemorrhage into the anterior chamber of the eye, or hyphema, as well as traumatic retinopathy. Such eye injuries are serious and can sometimes lead to permanent vision loss. The researchers also found that corkscrew blindness is more common than previously thought, with many people never fully recovering from such injuries and 26 percent of those treated for such injuries remaining blind. The damage has also led to late complications such as pupillary motility problems, post-traumatic glaucoma and traumatic optic neuropathy. The authors note that the pressure in a soda bottle can be three times greater than that in a car tire. The time it takes the cork to travel the distance from the bottle to the face is only 0.05 seconds, and the person does not have time to react by closing their eyes. /BGNES
