Doctors in England said Thursday that the case of a young bungee jumper whose vision was impaired after bouncing on the end of an elastic cord might make others think before they leap.
They said an 18-year-old woman lost the central vision in both eyes a few hours after plunging from a 165-foot-high crane during a charity bungee-jumping event.Although her vision improved over time, her ability to see with her right eye had not returned to the pre-jump level three months after the incident, Drs. Tahira Malik and Nabil Habib of the Wolverhampton and Midland Counties Eye Infirmary reported in the journal The Lancet.
They said it was the first reported case of a bungee-jumping injury that was not the result of an impact or problems such as bungee cord burns.
Malik and Habib said it appeared that during the woman's jump, increased pressure from the jerking of the bungee cord caused tiny blood vessels in the eye to rupture, damaging an area of the light-sensitive retina.
The doctors said it is possible no similar incidents have been reported because the intense emotional charge many people get from bungee jumping may mask mild, short-term disturbances in their vision.
Nevertheless, the case "highlights a potential serious complication of this sport," they said. "We feel that participants should be aware of possible injuries before jumping."