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Health care workers in Capetown, South Africa, noticed a spate of eye injuries caused by spring-loaded toy air guns shooting plastic projectiles. They embarked on a campaign to draw attention to the risks which has been repeated each Christmas for several years. This study describes the injuries, the toys (which were designed to resemble real guns and contained warning text only in Chinese), and a follow up visit in which the injured children were observed handling the toy guns. The authors point out that these unregulated toys also posed asphyxiation risks, and had been used in attempted robberies. (Richards JC, Murray AND. Toy gun injuries—more than meets the eye.
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A retrospective review of 10 years of burn cases in Nigeria found half the injuries occurring to children age <10. Kerosene and petrol were responsible together for 57% of the burns, while hot water scalds created 40%. The overall mortality was 21.8% which is perhaps not bad, given that Nigeria has no specialized burn centers or sophisticated burn units. During the study period, a shortage of petroleum product led to hoarding petrol within the home and to amateur efforts to produce kerosene from diesel. Both of these unsafe …