Airbags have saved thousands of lives, but the technology also has raised safety issues. The latest comes from a study published in the August 2000 issue of Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, which concludes that serious eye injuries in children may result from automotive airbag deployment. To minimize the potential problem, the journal recommends that infants and children should travel in the rear seat of automobiles to minimize their risk of injury.

In the study, Eye M.D. (ophthalmologist) Gregg T. Lueder reviewed medical records of seven children injured by airbags. He concluded that serious ocular injuries in children may result, though most resolve without detrimental long-term consequences. Dr. Lueder, however, also came to the conclusion that serious injury may result if the child is too near the airbag when it deploys, but the most serious injuries he cites are not eye injuries, but other serious trauma.

"In infants the increased mortality risk results from the use of rear-facing infant car seats in the front passenger seat," he said. "This places the infant's head too near the deploying airbag. In older children who are unbelted or who use lap-only seat belts, the head may move forward during impact, resulting in head and neck injuries."

In terms of children's vision, the study said the most serious consequences of these injuries were cataracts and glaucoma. Other injuries were blood in the front chamber of the eye; alkali burn; temporary loss of consciousness and visual acuity; eyelid laceration; black eye; swelling and hemorrhage of blood vessels under the outer surface of the eyeball; corneal lesions and abrasions; and inflammation of the iris.

More information on airbags and potential ocular injuries can be viewed at the Academy's Web site at www.eyenet.org.