Nonpowder Firearm Injuries to Children :

During the holiday season, the classic family film “A Christmas Story” often plays on television, depicting the story of a family growing up in the 1950s. The main character is a school-aged boy, Ralphie, who wants an “official Red Ryder, carbine action, 200-shot, range model air rifle, with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time” for Christmas. Yet every time he lets an adult know of his Christmas gift wish in the film, a parent or teacher would say, “it will shoot your eye out!” So how true is this statement? Jones et al (10.1542/peds.2019-2739) addressed this by analyzing data on nonpowder firearm injuries from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System between 1990 to 2016. The authors share with us information on over 364,000 children less than 18 years of age seen in emergency departments during the time of the study or an average of 13,486 per year. While the good news is that the injury number and rate of injury decreased during the time period studied, nonpowder firearm injuries continue to occur, especially in 6 to 17-year-old boys. What caused the injuries? BB guns were responsible for 81% of the injuries. Other injuries were caused by pellet (15.5%) and paintball (3.0%) guns. While the number of injuries decreased by 48%, eye injuries were the most common and increased over the time period of study and included everything from a corneal abrasion to globe rupture. Thus Ralphie’s parents were not wrong in being concerned—although did end up getting him the Red Ryder for Christmas. Better parental supervision should be advocated for when children use these weapons, in addition to insistence that all children and adults wear protective eyewear when shooting with them. Consider looking at your state’s laws to see just how feasible it would be to pass a law forbidding purchase of these weapons for children and teens.