Citation

Tatham A, Castillo A. Inj. Extra 2008; 39(11): 366.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.injury.2008.07.002

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Manufacturers of microwave ovens recommend that items such as eggs or packaged products be pierced several times before heating. This is because microwaves are able to create high levels of pressure inside sealed objects, which if high enough will cause an explosion. Injuries from exploding microwave-heated eggs may include facial or ocular burns and even ocular penetration. We report a case of ocular injury caused by an exploding microwave-cooked poached egg. This case illustrates that even eggs removed from their shells may explode.
To our knowledge, this case is the first to demonstrate that even eggs removed from the shell may explode and cause ocular injury. Piercing the shell of an egg before cooking may not be sufficient to prevent an explosion if the membrane inside the shell is not broken. Although the patient claimed to have pierced the yolk sac before cooking an intact yolk sac would allow a build up of positive pressure inside the yolk and is the most likely cause of injury in this patient. Despite manufacturers warnings many people seem unaware, or as an Internet search shows, happy to exploit, the potential dangers of exploding eggs. Almost 300 movies of eggs exploding in the microwave are available on the video sharing website ‘YouTube’. These videos demonstrate that the force generated by an exploding egg is great enough to blow open the door of a microwave oven. More should be done to educate people not to cook eggs in microwave ovens.