Paintball turns out to be dangerous.
(Mirror Daily, United States) – A serious case had caught everyone’s attention when a teenage boy suffered a ruptured liver after being shot with a paintball gun.
Surgeons had to cut inside the boy’s stomach to stop the bleeding and save his liver. After the teenager had recovered, the three doctors who treated him wrote a detailed report to underline the risks of this game. North Middlesex University Hospital lead author, Joshua Luck, claims that this is not the first deep organ wound, caused by paintball. Moreover, previous operations were needed to deal with inflicted damaged to the scrotum, penis, and kidneys.
According to these facts, it is only fair that every participant should consider twice before deciding to play such a sport. Studies show that pellets with muzzle velocities of 100 to 300 feet per second are dangerous, not only for the eyes but also for the organs inside the abdomen.
There is a large variety of paintball guns. They have velocities of maximum 200 miles per hour and pellets with a 0.4 to 0.7 calibre range. In 2001, a 39-year old father, Kenneth Costin, of two children died of a brain swelling after his head was hit by a pellet shot.
Despite this, Andrew Naylor from UK Paintball, the top paintball company in Britain, believes that some cases are exaggerated. He admitted that every sport carries a certain amount of risk but as long as the participants are properly equipped and guided by well-trained marshals the danger of getting injured drops significantly.
After being asked whether the injuries are caused by the organizers’ carelessness, he responded that safety comes first in all companies. According to him, it occurs quite rare to be injured on a site which respects all rules. A survey from 2003 states that football has 2.4 injuries per 1000 players, tennis 1.1 per 1000, whereas paintball has only 0.2 per 1000.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents made a study in 2002 finding that each year out of 923 injuries, 423 were foot,ankle and leg injuries. Also, the majority of eye injuries were caused by not wearing goggles in the first place.
But still you can never be 100% sure that you are safe when you decide to engage in a type of sport that presents serious risks, such as paintball.
Image Source:Wikipedia