Wills Eye Hospital Doctors Urge July 4th Partiers To Avoid Using Fireworks As Nationwide Sales Soar And Injury Concerns Rise

PHILADELPHIA, June 24, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Ophthalmologists from Wills Eye Hospital are urging revelers to celebrate the annual 4^th of July holiday without using consumer fireworks to avoid risking blindness, facial disfigurement and a host of other traumatic injuries when handling or using the potentially deadly explosives.

This year, firecrackers and various explosives have already been set off nightly throughout Philadelphia neighborhoods and across the country -- leading to record numbers of resident complaints to city officials, police and fire departments. This comes as the public has spent three months indoors adhering to stay-at-home orders during the pandemic, civil unrest has swept the country and like nearly every other major event has been canceled, so too are many organized public fireworks displays - due to large crowd gatherings and the risk of contracting COVID-19.

"We are especially concerned this year that we could see a significant increase in eye and facial injuries. Handling these consumer grade fireworks is no joke. You can lose your life, severely damage your eyes, even go blind. Every year, emergency rooms around the country see an increase in injuries including devastating burns and severe damage to the eyes," said Ann P. Murchison, MD, Director of the Wills Eye Emergency Department at Jefferson.

Of the over 9,000 injuries a year from fireworks, nearly 2/3 occur during this part of the summer and nearly 20% result in eye injuries, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO).  Even legal fireworks for small scale use can cause significant eye injuries, including sparklers which burn at more than 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. More than half of those injured are bystanders and many injuries are in children. "This year, keep everyone safe and consider watching TV highlights from previous celebrations around the world instead – or skip the fireworks altogether," continued Dr. Murchison.

Wills Eye Hospital patient Rasaan Urquhart of Bensalem, Pennsylvania completely lost his vision in one eye in 2018 from a fireworks accident when he was a bystander at a neighborhood celebration after the Eagles won the Super Bowl. Mr. Urquhart urges safety this year so others don't suffer the same experience.

If you do suffer an eye injury from fireworks, seek medical care immediately and follow these important first steps before you receive professional medical help:

• Seek medical care immediately.
• Do not try to remove anything from your eye.
• Do no rinse or rub your eyes.
• Do not put pressure on the eye - use a cup to cover and protect injured eye instead of putting a bandage or flat paper towel against your eye.

The Wills Eye Emergency Department in Philadelphia is open 24/7 and located at 900 Walnut Street across the street from Wills Eye Hospital.

About Wills Eye Hospital:
Wills Eye Hospital is a global leader in ophthalmology, established in 1832 as the nation's first hospital specializing in eye care. U.S. News & World Report consistently ranks Wills Eye as one of America's top ophthalmology Hospitals since the survey began, has the most nationally ranked ophthalmologists in the country and is the #1 academic training in the USA for its residency program as voted by physicians in the nation. Wills Eye is a premier training site for all levels of medical education. Its resident and post-graduate training programs are among the most competitive in the country. The Vickie and Jack Farber Vision Research Center at Wills harnesses the core strengths of Wills, the close connection between innovative research and advanced patient care, to discover therapeutic breakthroughs. Wills provides the full range of primary and subspecialty eye care for improving and preserving sight, including cataract, cornea, retina, emergency care, glaucoma, neuro-ophthalmology, ocular oncology, oculoplastics, pathology, pediatric ophthalmology and ocular genetics, and refractive surgery. Ocular Services include the Wills Laser Correction Center, Low Vision Service, and Diagnostic Center. Its 24/7 Emergency Service is the only one of its kind in the region. Wills Eye also has a network of seven multi-specialty, ambulatory surgery centers throughout the tristate area. To learn more, please visit www.willseye.org

SOURCE Wills Eye Hospital

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