Injuries From Nonpowder Guns Severe Among Children

Injuries from nonpowder guns are increasingly becoming more severe among children, according to a recent study.

Researchers from Children's Medical Center of Dallas found in a study that nonpowder firearms, such as paintball, airsoft, and BB guns should not be classified as toys but as powerful weapons, which are causing increasing numbers of severe and sometimes life-threatening injuries in pediatric patients, according to a news release.

"Nonpowder guns are not toys, and an adult should always supervise their use by children," Dr. Nina Mizuki Fitzgerald, MD, lead researcher of the study and a pediatric emergency medicine fellow at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Researchers examined the medical records of 176 patients treated at Dallas Children's Hospital after being injured by nonpowder guns between 2010 and 2013. They found that 87 percent of the patients were male, and 30 percent were under 10 years old. The majority of the injuries were unintentional, according to the researchers.   

The researchers found that 29 percent of the children required immediate surgery to remove deeply embedded objects, repair structures of the eye, and remove part of the skull or insert drains to relieve swelling resulting from traumatic brain injury. Ten percent of the children had a long-lasting functional deficit, where 83 percent of injuries were eye related. Eight percent of children had an eye removed through surgery, according to Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald claimed that safety recommendation needs to be followed, and children should always wear eye protection when they are using nonpowder guns. Fitzgerald also urged for stricter regulations of the muzzle velocities of nonpowder guns.

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