Any sports fan will tell you that two pillars of celebrating a championship work together: bottles are opened, corks fly, alcohol is sprayed, and glasses protect everyone’s eyes. We saw the New York Liberty wear them after their big win, and this week, the Los Angeles Dodgers capped their World Series victory with a shower of something fresh, dry, bubbly, and out of my price range. Which makes us wonder: Is champagne (and its occasionally explosive opening process) so dangerous that athletes (or yourself) should don fundamentally bulletproof glasses when the party starts?
Well, in a word: yes.
The biggest danger? “The cork is like a projectile,” says Ann Arthur, MD, an ophthalmologist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. “If it goes flying, it can cause a lot of injuries that can be somewhat minor, somewhat serious, or it could even change the structure of the eye.”
Which is a clue, because according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, champagne corks can explode from bottles at speeds of up to 50 miles per hour. “If you have a projectile going 30, 40, 50 miles per hour, in theory it can break the eye,” says Dr. Arthur. Other possible injuries include: corneal abrasion, angular recession glaucoma, cataracts, and fractures around the orbital bone or eye socket. Ultimately, you could lose your vision.
And it’s more likely than you think: according to a 2005 study, 26% of those injured by champagne corks remained legally blind. And while Dr. Arthur emphasized that Champagne-related injuries are not something she has treated exhaustively, they are certainly possible.
The Major Leagues have had their fair share of difficult situations. In 2018, current Los Angeles Dodger (then a member of the Boston Red Sox) Mookie Betts errantly shot a reporter in the neck (she was fine). Six years earlier, San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum was shot in the eye with a cork; He was also fine.
“The most important thing we emphasize is prevention because, while these injuries are not very common, they can be quite traumatic,” says Dr. Arthur. When it comes to eye protection, the gold standard is glasses made of polycarbonate that completely enclose the eyes and cheeks. So yes, glasses are a good idea.
They will also prevent eye irritation from alcohol, a problem that Dr. Arthur recommends treating with a simple action. “If you get any type of chemical in your eye, the first thing you should do is flush it out of the eye,” he says, “even if that means just putting your head under the faucet, you should rinse it out.” .”
Now, if you’re reading this, you’re probably not at risk of being corked by a professional sports team, and if you are, can we get tickets? But hopefully, you’ll soon be drinking some kind of sparkling wine because, well, it’s fun. And when you do: be careful. Or wear glasses.
