BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Fourth of July is one of the national holidays known for the use of fireworks, and it's always good to remind people to practice safety when using them.
An expert at Virginia Tech says there are about 2,000 eye injuries caused by fireworks annually.
Professor Stefan Duma says it's important to understand how to use fireworks and how they can cause harm.
Duma says it's not always about the explosion. It's the projectiles released from fireworks that can cause permanent damage.
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"The explosion is not enough pressure in the entry way to cause an eye injury. Having said, that we want to make sure people don't go buy bottle rockets and shoot them at each other. The projectile can cause an eye injury," said Stefan Duma, a professor at Virginia Tech.
Virginia Tech says there are about 10,000 firework-related injuries treated in emergency rooms every year.