CANADIAN CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL SEES RISE IN POKEMON GO RELATED INJURIES


A children’s hospital in Ontario says it has seen an increase in injuries sustained by kids playing the wildly popular Pokemon Go game.

In the past month, at least a dozen patients have ended up in the emergency room after being injured while playing the virtual reality game, the McMaster Children’s Hospital in Hamilton, Ont., said in a news release Thursday.

Dr. Anthony Crocco, chief of pediatric emergency medicine at Hamilton Health Sciences, said that number is “likely a conservative estimate” since patients don’t always tell the doctors what they were doing when they got hurt.

The injuries sustained by Pokemon Go players weren’t serious, but included bruising and sprained ankles, the hospital said. Still, Crocco said the outcomes in some cases could have been much worse.

“This isn’t a reason not to play the game, but videogames such as Pokemon Go may inadvertently lead children into dangerous places or situations,” Crocco said in the news release.

“It’s up to parents to have a conversation with their kids and make sure that if the game is going to be played, it’s being played safely.”

Pokemon Go requires players to go to different locations and “catch” virtual characters that appear on their smartphones.

VIA - ctvnews.ca
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