by KYW’s Michelle Durham

Fourth of July would not be complete without fireworks, but one local physician is concerned because she has treated far too many injuries.Ophthalmologist in Chief at Wills Eye Hospital Dr. Julia Haller says even novelty fireworks like sparklers and bottle rockets can cause devastating injuries:

“If the sparkler hits the cornea, you can have a dense scar on the front part of your eye but even more worrisome are the bottle rockets.”

Eric Meyer of Downingtown suffered an eye injury from a bottle rocket that could have threatened his career as a pilot:

“The bottle tipped over and one of the bottle rocket came directly at me; hit me in the bridge of my nose and glanced off my right eye and then exploded in the grass about 30 feet to my right.”

Meyer suffered serious injury to the eye but fortunately sought immediate treatment. It took three months for the trauma to resolve, but he still has some lingering effects although he is cleared to fly. His advice — don’t go near fireworks of any kind.