Sunday, 12 November 2023 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The bursting of crackers during Deepawali is part of the celebration of the festival of lights. However, apart from affecting the environment the bursting of crackers also results in a number of burn-related cases during Deepawali. The medical experts opine that parents should be vigilant and compulsorily accompany their children during bursting of crackers on the day. It is a commonly observed phenomenon that on the day of Deepawali, the cracker induced medical emergency cases are reported in big numbers in all the hospitals and children constitute a major percentage of such cases.
Plastic surgeon at the government Doon Medical College (GDMC) hospital, Dr Mohit Goyal said that the parents should ensure that the children burst crackers only in their presence and supervision. He also suggested that a long incense stick should be used to light the crackers so that a safe distance is maintained. Dr Goyal said that maximum numbers of burn cases are reported from Anar(sparklers) as children tend to lean over them to ignite them and many a time the sparkles hit their faces or it bursts immediately.
Senior plastic surgeon, Dr Harish Ghildiyal said that in some cases the candles and Diyas are also responsible for burn cases. He said that clothes which easily catch fire should be avoided and preference to cotton clothes should be given. He added that in case of burn, toothpaste, ghee, turmeric should not be applied and cold water should be poured immediately if any burn injury is caused and the person should be rushed to the nearest medical facility. The hospitals also receive many cases of road accidents induced by the firecrackers which the medical experts believe could be reduced if the crackers are burst in a large open space under vigilant eyes of senior members of the society.
Injury to the eye is the most common form of damage caused by the careless bursting of crackers. The associate professor of ophthalmology in the GDMC hospital here, Dr Sushil Ojha said that the children suffer firecracker injury of different kinds like burn, open globe, ruptured globe and intraocular foreign body. “If possible avoid powerful noisy firecrackers, never go and see any firecracker if it has not blasted, never burn fire crackers in a glass bottle or pot or inside the dust or directly from the hand. Use paper for burning firecrackers, so that one can have enough time to run away. Last advice is that even if with all precautions injuries happen, then rush to the hospital for specialist consultation and never ever treat injury at home,’’ he said.
