Several injuries were reported after thousands of students took to the streets following the Spartans' loss to North Carolina on Saturday.
At Lansing's Sparrow Hospital emergency room, between 15 and 20 students were treated and released, said Nan Simons, spokeswoman for Sparrow Hospital.
Students were treated for twisted ankles, bumps and bruises and exposure to tear gas and similar chemicals. Health professionals irrigated patients' eyes and monitored the breathing of students treated for exposure to tear gas, Simons said.
There were at least 15 medical runs to Sparrow Hospital and Ingham County Medical Center, but no life-threatening injuries were reported during the disturbances, said East Lansing Fire Marshall Bob Pratt.
As for police, five officers were injured. Three officers had bottles thrown at them in the Cedar Village area, and one was hit in the face shield with a chunk of asphalt. Another officer was hit in the pelvic region with a metal ball probably released from a sling shot, said MSU Police Chief Jim Dunlap.
Several revelers were treated at the scene and released with injuries from reactions to tear gas, lacerations and asthma complications, Pratt said.
Tear gas can cause intense irritation to the eyes, nose, mouth, lungs and skin, according to the Web site www.emedicine.com.
The site said eyes are the most sensitive to the effects of the gas, and rarely, serious eye injuries can occur. Symptoms can vary with duration and amount of exposure and can last up to an hour.
There were five calls about reactions to the tear gas in the city and in Cedar Village.
Ryan Dennis, a business freshman at Kalamazoo Community College, was treated at Sparrow Hospital after being hit in the face by a tear-gas canister near Cedar Village.
"It still hurts," Dennis said Sunday. "I'm probably going to have a scar for the rest of my life.
"I don't understand why they would shoot head-level with something like that."
Human biology senior Jamie Trager was taken to Sparrow Hospital emergency room and released after a can of tear gas went off at her feet outside of Rick's American Café, 224 Abbott Road. She said she couldn't run away because she had a brace on her foot.
"I couldn't open my eyes for an hour and a half, and I was coughing and spitting up," Trager said. "I was panicky; it burned so bad.
"I understand if people were starting something, but no one in my vicinity was doing anything wrong."
