In many households tomorrow night, the champagne corks and confetti cannons will be popping to ring in the new year. Not without danger: with champagne, the cork can pop out of the bottle at a speed of 100 kilometers per hour. That does not always go well, especially if there is alcohol in the man.
Blind through cork
Tjeerd de Faber of the Rotterdam Eye Hospital treats a handful of patients in his hospital every year with serious eye damage because the champagne cork ended up in the eye. De Faber knows several people who have been blinded in one eye by champagne corks.
The ophthalmologist may be even more concerned about the so-called confetti cannons. Last year he treated six patients who suffered eye damage from these party poppers, which can be purchased for a few euros at Blokker and Action. The accidents can cause permanent eye damage.
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Other ophthalmologists across the country are also seeing these cases. Ophthalmologist Caroline Klaver from Nijmegen: “Fortunately, it happens occasionally, but the blow and blow can cause major damage to the cornea.”
Often things go wrong with the person who is holding the bottle himself. It is checked whether the cork is already loose and then it pops into the eye. Or the cork flies across the room and ends up in an eye.
Something similar happens with the confetti cannon: the confetti explodes under pressure and if used incorrectly, the high pressure can cause eye damage.
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Warning
Doctors are calling for a clearer warning about the danger of flying champagne corks and party poppers on labels. This is already happening abroad, says ophthalmologist De Faber: “In France, at the turn of the year, there is no warning about fireworks, but about corks. There are many more accidents there. In the United States there is even a warning on the bottle.”
A few years ago, former CDA MEP Wim van de Camp thought that the European Commission should do something about these kinds of accidents. Such as warnings on the bottle or an accompanying user manual.
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Permanent eye damage
Tijl Kok (16) from Veldhoven suffered permanent eye damage six years ago from a confetti cannon. He has to live with an artificial lens and has permanent eye damage after a party popper popped near his eye. “The person who had the confetti cannon in his hand was standing 1.5 meters away,” says Tijl.
“The pressure of the confetti cannon probably dented my right eye in and then out again. My eye immediately started to bleed and I couldn’t see anything anymore. That was very scary. Fortunately, I was able to remain quite calm.”
New lens
In the hospital in Eindhoven it turned out that his iris had torn loose from his eye. Tijl’s eye was also full of blood and his pupil was no longer nicely round. “That blood had to get out of my eye first. That took several weeks. In that time I saw nothing. I had to rest a lot and live with a hood on my eye.”
During an operation he got a new lens. His stitches just came out. Tijl’s sight has slowly returned through the artificial lens, but it will never be completely as before the accident. “An artificial lens can’t focus and adjust as well as a healthy eye. I also need laser treatment for the cataracts in my eye.”
Tijl is brave and strong, but he also wants to warn. “Your eyes are super important and valuable. I hope people are really careful; things can go wrong in a second with a champagne cork or party popper.”
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