Getting smacked in the eyeball caused injuries that ranged from minor conjunctival hemorrhage - making the white of the eye look red - to corneal scarring to a detached retina requiring surgery.

But Durnian said the extent of injury isn't related to the speed at which the egg is lobbed.

"It's not that they're heaved so fast really, it's because of the shape and the weight," he explained. "A raw egg is actually quite heavy and they just fit in the bony rim of your orbit. An egg or a squash ball can actually get into the orbit and cause real damage.

"It's even worse if the egg doesn't break, because if it breaks it dissipates some of the energy."

The Canadian Ophthalmological Society says eye mishaps are among the most common injuries treated in hospital emergency rooms, and the group has posted an eye safety advisory on its website, including the warning that children should be taught "not to throw snowballs, rocks, crabapples or chestnuts."

Durnian believes eggs should be added to such lists provided to the public by eye-specialist associations in Britain, Canada and other countries - especially with Halloween just six weeks away.

He noted that several of the patients in the study were "egged" on or near Halloween - and one Liverpool supermarket even marketed cartons of eggs specifically for "Halloween fun."

Commenting on the study, Dr. Robert Devenyi of Toronto's University Health Network said accentuating the fact that eggs can be dangerous projectiles "is probably prudent."

"I think people think that throwing eggs is probably just a joke and is benign, because you think of an egg as something that's just going to explode and make a mess," said Devenyi, a retinal specialist and ophthalmologist-in-chief for the three-hospital network.

"But the reality is that when you throw an egg, especially when it goes longitudinally towards something, it's actually very hard and incredibly resistant to breakage. It's like throwing a rock."

"It's a blunt injury, not different than if a fist hits the eye."

Durnian said that anyone bashed in the eye by a flying egg should seek immediate medical attention, and doctors should refer patients to an ophthalmologist for assessment - even if the injury seems superficial. Two of the patients cited in the study had injuries that put them at risk for potentially vision-destroying glaucoma in the future, he added.

"The public just needs to be aware how dangerous chucking eggs at people can be."

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