New Year's Eve Warning: Un-Corking That Bottle Could Blind You

Cropped image of multi-ethnic business people toasting champagne flutes while celebrating Christmas in office

Don’t Poke Your Eye Out – or Really, Blind Yourself – This New Year’s Eve

Eye-popping news, literally: Health experts sound the alarm when it comes to the New Year tradition of popping open bottles. It’s such a hazard, that eye doctors now call for Champagne and wine-makers to provide twist-off options – to reduce the number of eye injuries, which come from uncorking bottles of bubbly.

“A cork can travel from bottle to eye in less than 0.05 seconds, making the blinking reflex ineffective,” Dr. Ethan Waisberg writes. Ophthalmologists confirm that a cork, hitting your eye, at 50 miles per hour, can cause blindness, retinal detachment, and lens dislocation.

In fact, “reality TV” star Theo Campbell of “Love Island” is now blinded in one eye, due to such an incident.

So, here are some eye-safety tips for New Year’s Eve: Chill the bottle to reduce pressure. Avoid shaking the bottle. Point the bottle away from yourself and others, while you open it.

(See more, here: NY Post)