Purpose: To describe various ocular injuries caused by water jets, with a particular emphasis on injuries inflicted by water cannon vehicles used during riots. Design: A retrospective observational case series Methods: We report a case series of eleven eyes of nine patients injured form a direct high pressure water jet used by the police in Israel as a riot control measure during a demonstration. All patients admitted to the emergency room with blunt ocular trauma had undergone clinical examination by an ophthalmologist. Results: Hyphema was the most common ocular injury observed, affecting 8 out of the 11 eyes examined, followed by traumatic mydriasis and vitreous hemorrhage in 54% and 36% of patients, respectively. In this series two of nine patients required ocular surgery. Injuries requiring surgical intervention were retinal detachment, lens dislocation and vitreous hemorrhage. Conclusions: Water-jet injuries may inflict severe damage to the globe and orbital structures. Care should be taken preventing such injuries inflicted by water cannon vehicles used during riots.
Cohen et al. (2026) studied this question.