'Blowing It As Hard As I Could'

Seriously, folks, it's time for vuvuzela control. How many people must be sacrificed before we're rid of this menace?

The vuvuzela really blows.

We know the plastic horns trumpeted by World Cup fans are annoying. Now they’ve become a health hazard.

A South African woman ruptured her throat by blowing the horn too hard, doctors told her.

The 3-foot noisemaker has become the unofficial symbol of the 2010 World Cup.

The horns have riled thousands of fans, players and commentators with their ear-piercing sound that resembles a beehive about to burst.

For 29-year-old Yvonne Mayer, the horn proved dangerous, too.

She said a co-worker gave her the horn and she brought it along to watch South Africa’s opening match with Mexico. She admits she was "blowing it as hard as I could."

"At first I thought I'd gone down with a bug, but the next day it was worse. When I went to the doctor, he took a look and then laughed," she told the Daily Mail.

"He said I'd ruptured my throat by blowing too hard, and that perhaps I had been doing it all wrong."

The forceful blowing put a tear in her throat, but no long-term damage is expected.

In other vuvuzela news, the USA today managed to fight back from an 0-2 hole to tie Slovenia.