Nerf gun eye injuries: traumatic hyphema

Three unrelated patients attended the accident and emergency department with pain and blurred vision after ocular injury with a Nerf gun. Two were adults and one was a child, all of which presented within a 3 months’ period. All three cases were found to have ≥1 mm of traumatic hyphema (pooling of blood in anterior chamber of the eye), indicating significant ocular trauma. The two adult patients had formed hyphema and uveitis. The 11-year-old child had formed hyphema, corneal oedema, anterior uveitis, localised angle recession and commotio retinae, which further highlight the severity of the ocular trauma. Significant Nerf gun ocular injuries are not reported in the literature, as far as we know. This case series serves to raise awareness of the seriousness of Nerf gun ocular injuries. It encourages further exploration of reasons for such injuries, as well as a review of protective measures against ocular trauma.