10 people in Kingston, Ont., sent to hospital with eye injuries. One patient blames a foam party

Natalie Stechyson · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 09, 2024 6:23 PM EDT | Last Updated: 21 minutes ago

Ten people in Kingston, Ont., were treated for chemical eye exposure and needed to have their eyes flushed after what one patient says was a foam party gone wrong.

Kingston Health Sciences Centre's Emergency Department treated 10 patients late Sunday and early Monday for "chemical eye exposure," a spokesperson confirmed with CBC News. The hospital would not confirm the patients had attended a foam party, due to patient confidentiality.

But one of those patients told CBC News it all started when she went to a foam party at Stages Nightclub — a bar on Kingston's downtown strip popular with students. At these types of parties, foam is typically sprayed onto a dance floor throughout the night and several feet of foam can accumulate.

The woman and her friends arrived at the club at around 11:10 p.m. Sunday, she told CBC News. Her eyes started burning within the hour, she said. CBC is not naming the woman, a student at Queen's University, because she is concerned that being associated with drinking in clubs could affect her career prospects.

"It was kind of like someone was slashing your eyes almost, with a knife. It was just really painful and not a feeling that would go away even when your eyes were closed," she told CBC News.

CBC News reached out to Stages Nightclub for comment, but has yet to hear back. In an email response from Stages sent to the Queen's student, viewed by CBC News, the club said it was frustrated to hear what happened to its patrons.

"We … want nothing more than to make this right," the email said.

Kingston, Frontenac, and Lennox & Addington Public Health told CBC News it's investigating an increase in patients experiencing eye irritation, "unrelated to the solar eclipse." 

WATCH | What a solar eclipse can do to your eyes: 

'A perfect way to end the semester'

The event at Stages was advertised on its social media accounts.

"Come party on the dance floor and under the foam with us, it's a night you won't want to miss and a perfect way to end the semester," the club wrote in a post on Facebook and Instagram. 

The student told CBC News she and her friends left the club shortly after their eyes started burning. Her vision was  blurry, but at first she assumed it was just a typical reaction to the foam getting in her eyes. But she said her eyes kept burning, even after a long shower, rinsing them herself with a bowl of water and using eye drops.

Her roommate went to the hospital, she said, but she tried to sleep it off. The next day, the student's eyes were puffy and oozing puss, so she went to the hospital, too.

"I had to get prescription antibiotics. I had to go again this morning because they wanted to make sure there weren't any  scratches on my cornea," she told CBC News.

"I'm still experiencing pain and discomfort. I have to wear sunglasses all the time and am unable to do work or study for my exams."

Foam can cause irritation: CDC

In 2013, when foam parties were becoming popular, the American Optometric Association warned that they can cause eye irritation. This was in reaction to a report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about eye injuries sustained at a foam party in Naples, Fla.

The CDC said 56 people who attended the 2012 party at a Naples club suffered eye injuries.

"This investigation highlights the range and potential seriousness of eye injuries that can result from exposure to foam," the CDC report noted. 

In 2001, approximately 60 club-goers in Calgary were treated for eye injuries after a foam party.

Jared Cole, the owner of Lucky Inflatables and Foam Party Kingston, says eye injuries from foam parties are rare as long as you use the right hypo-allergenic and organic foam. But the "good stuff" is expensive, he said — about $30 per gallon, which will make enough foam to last about 20 minutes. 

"We don't see injuries with high-quality foam," he told CBC News, noting that he did not rent any equipment to Stages for its foam party.

In its email to the injured student, Stages said it used hypo-allergenic foam, followed all the dilution instructions and cleaned the equipment.