Fireworks can be fun with the right safety precautions - KCBD NewsChannel 11 Lubbock

By Karin McCay| email

Edited by Kristin Beerman | email 

LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) – In one recent year, fireworks were involved in more than 9,000 injuries treated in U.S. emergency rooms and 2,300 of those were injuries to the eye, which is according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. 

Dr. Cathy Whittman, an ophthalmologist at the Texas Tech Health Science Center says it's not just the people lighting the big stuff that get hurt, but kids and sparklers are a dangerous combination. "They think sparklers are harmless and they give them to the small children, but sparklers can burn really anywhere from 1200 degrees Fahrenheit, up to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, so you don't want to give that to a smaller child," said Dr. Whittman.

If a sparkler or fireworks display leaves you with a spark in the eye, here's what prevent blindness says you should NOT do:

• Do not rub or rinse the eye
• Do not apply pressure or any ointment to the eye
• Do not stop for pain medication

Instead, just go straight to the emergency room or call 911.

©2010 KCBD NewsChannel 11.  All rights reserved.