Very important airbag injury information

[tube fanatic]

Sent to me by an eye doctor friend. We're all aware of potential injury to the body from airbag deployment, but this is the first I've heard about this possibility:

Case of Severe Airbag Related Ocular Alkali Injury
			While airbags have saved many lives and are clearly beneficial overall, sodium hydroxide (NaOH) powder produced by the inflation reaction can cause significant alkali ocular injury if not irrigated promptly. This report details a case of severe airbag related ocular alkali injury as a way to bring attention to the need for prompt ocular irrigation following motor vehicle accidents (MVA) with airbag deployment. A 47-year-old man was involved in a MVA with airbag deployment in a rural setting. Attention was paid to several other life-threatening traumatic injuries; however, ocular irrigation was not performed until some six to seven hours after the MVA. Over the course of six months, airbag-related alkali injury caused severe limbal ischemia, conjunctivalization of the cornea, corneal epithelial defects, cicatricial scarring, haze and corneal/limbal vascularization despite amniotic membrane graft. Awareness of the importance of ocular irrigation following airbag deployment must be raised both in the ophthalmology and emergency medicine communities.
			SOURCE: Barnes SS, Wong W Jr, Affeldt JC. A case of severe airbag related ocular alkali injury. Hawaii J Med Public Health. 2012;71(8):229–31.

[Daddy Dee]

TF, good to know. Thanks for posting.

[Schu]

so you got some powder in your eyes... who would have thought[<)]

[sofa king]

Thanks for posting this, as, while I hope to avoid accidents, my 2011 Toyota has many airbags. Sofa King good to know.

[Audio Android]

So now I should be carrying an extra bottle of water in my car, just in case I get airbag powder in my eyes after I'm in an accident...... That's weird........ THANKS for the info Tube Fanatic.