Main

Sir,

We present three cases of ocular injury sustained as a result of egg throwing. The raw egg can act as a substantial missile, resulting in significant ocular trauma. The ocular dangers of egg throwing need to be highlighted and addressed.

Case reports

Case 1 A 16-year-old female was walking on the sidewalk when a car stopped and an egg was thrown at her left eye. Her vision was 20/80 unaided (UA) and 20/40 pinhole (PH). She had lid ecchymoses, numerous subtarsal foreign bodies and multiple corneal abrasions. She had a dense fibrinous anterior uveitis, which eventually settled on topical steroids and she made a good visual recovery.

Case 2 A 51-year-old pedestrian was struck by an egg thrown from a passing car. On presentation, she was in severe pain and was vomiting. Her visual acuity was perception of light (PL). She had substantial periocular ecchymoses and lacerations with infraorbital anaesthesia. Her cornea had a partial thickness laceration. There was a hyphaema associated with a significant iridodialysis (Figure 1). Her intraocular pressure was elevated at 32 mmHg. A CT of orbits confirmed a fracture of her orbital floor with no muscle entrapment. She was managed conservatively and at 5-month follow-up her BCVA was 20/200. Her intraocular pressure was controlled with topical antiglaucomatous medication.

figure 1

Figure 1

Case 3 A 15-year-old schoolboy had a raw egg thrown at him in the schoolyard. The egg broke when it struck his left eye. His left visual acuity on presentation to casualty was counting fingers (CF). He had ecchymoses of his lids, subconjunctival haemorrhages and a 5 mm hyphaema. His intraocular pressure was medically controlled and his final visual acuity at 3 months was 20/20 UA.

Comment

Assault accounts for 22% of ocular trauma admitted to hospital.1 The most common cause of ocular injury in children is a thrown missile.2 Although raw egg throwing may sound like a minor offence, the ocular and orbital consequences can be severe as described in our case reports.

An egg, like a squash ball, fits into the orbital cavity. Relatively little force is therefore dissipated to the orbital rim, the egg transferring most of its kinetic energy directly to the globe on impact. The result is a severe blunt injury to the eye.

Egg throwing may occur as a random act of violence, but also commonly occurs in the schoolyard on birthdays and holidays. Two of our patients were minors. Egg throwing is a common practice at Halloween, and the public needs to be educated as to the potential ocular dangers of egg throwing.3