We all heard it from our parents as kids “careful not to poke your eye out!”
Whether it was playing with BB guns or slingshots, or whatever the toy was, we were raised to be careful with anything that could potentially fly near or into our eyes – for good reason.
Let’s fast forward to age 28. The toy has now changed to a champagne bottle while you are celebrating. It could be New Year’s Eve, or a friend’s birthday. It could even be a bachelor or bachelorette party.
Most of us feel those butterflies before we pop the cork on some bubbly bottles, but no one REALLY thinks they could lose their eye.
Until now.
Theo Campbell, a reality star who starred in Love Island in 2017 and is set to star in another MTV reality show “MTV’s The Challenge: War of the Worlds 2”, was vacationing in Ibiza when he happened to get hit by a cork that completely split his eye in half.
If you’re anything like me this story will make you cringe.
The terrible ending which entailed the full loss of his right eye led us to create this blog post for our patients to be aware.
Losing your eye is a real fear, and you are not exempt when someone else is popping the bottle. So please, be warned and be careful!
Did you know a champagne cork flies at 50 mph and can shatter glass?
Did you also know that if it hits your eye it can cause bleeding, cataracts, glaucoma, or a complete loss of vision?
The American Academy of Ophthalmology posted a great article about HOW you can open a champagne bottle safely. It shares how to position the bottle and even how to store it. We are providing a quick summary below but feel free to full article and thank us later!
1. Keep the champagne bottle cold (warm champagne has higher gas pressure)
2. Do NOT shake or rattle the bottle (shaking increases the pressure)
3. Do NOT point the bottle at anyone (DUH!)
4. Place a hand towel or napkin over the top of the cork to control it and point it in a safe direction!
