Let the festive season not rob your child of vision

India is a land of festivals. Thanks to our culturally rich, immensely diverse and ancient heritage, celebrations are frequent. But nothing excites the young, especially children, more than Dasehra and Diwali festivities.

Ramlila, the story of the triumph of the virtuous over evil, is performed every year for 10 nights at nearly every street corner across India. The climax of this story is the bow-and-arrow duel between Lord Rama’s Vanar sena and Ravana’s demons, an act that is specially thrilling for children. Vendors sell toy bows and arrows, and kids have a field day playing with bows and arrows.

Children, especially boys aged six to 10, are highly vulnerable to eye injuries. I vividly recall a terrible case that happened decades ago. A six-year-old boy was brought to me with his right eye shattered by an arrow, shot by his elder sibling through a peephole in the door, unaware that his brother was peering through it. Sometimes, kids also play war-games with sticks, which can be contaminated. These contaminated sticks shot with a catapult, a game played by poor kids, especially boys, can strike the eye at a high speed and severely damage vision. And in over 40 per cent of the cases, eyes are damaged due to post-injury infection, caused by contaminated sticks.

Following the broadcast of a highly popular mythological programme in 1987, over the next two years, we treated 45 children with arrow injuries at PGI, Chandigarh. More than half of these kids lost complete vision in the affected eye. Cases of eye injuries due to arrow strikes declined in recent decades. However, there was a resurgence of such injuries during the Covid lockdown, coinciding with the re-broadcast of these mythological programmes.

As Diwali approaches, there would be frenzied bursts of firecrackers, shooting bottle rockets, and a rain of sparkles from the night sky, accompanied by the acrid smell and smoke. The young children, however, wait for this time of the year, building up their arsenal of crackers and looking forward to an evening of great fun. Unfortunately, most young children tend to be curious, and are high risk-takers and sensation seekers, unmindful of the consequences.

According to Mary Cain, a psychologist based in Kansas, US, the anticipation of sound and light and the suspense between the few seconds after the fuse is lit and the bursting of the firecracker trigger the release of the feel-good hormone dopamine in the brain, which, coupled with a sudden adrenaline rush can be a highly exciting experience.

While a misdirected or ricocheted rocket can accidently shatter the eye of a bystander, repeated attempts to re-ignite dud firecrackers can also cause burn injuries in the eye/s of a child intently bending over it. The morning after Diwali, it is a common sight to see street urchins scavenging roadside debris of the burst firecrackers in the hope of finding some dud crackers.

The story repeats every Diwali night in neighbourhoods and streets across towns and cities of India.

Most countries which celebrate events or festivals with fireworks also see eye injuries, though on a much smaller scale, as firework displays are usually community-based events and not done individually. Most fireworks injuries usually, affect face and hands, with half of them severely damaging the eyes. The main offenders are bottle rockets, which are seven times more likely to cause permanent eye damage than other any other type of firecrackers. Often, bystanders, including adults and passers-by, become victims of flying rockets.

Year after year, it is heart-breaking to see photographs of children with bandaged eyes on the front pages of local newspapers on the next day of Diwali. Unwittingly, the festival of lights plunges them into lifelong darkness.

Yet, we have not learnt any lessons. Although the Supreme Court has restricted the bursting of (green) crackers, limiting these to a few hours, children continue to lose their sight to firecracker injuries unabated.

In 1997, the UK introduced the Fireworks (Safety) Regulations, which banned mini-rockets and fireworks with an erratic flight path, leading to a decline in serious eye injuries.

Common sense states that children should not light firecrackers without adult supervision. Suggestions have been made worldwide, including by the Supreme Court of India, to celebrate festivals with a professional fireworks display at the community level. However, watching community fireworks display are mostly appreciated by older people, and not children or the young.

One possible solution involves encouraging the use of polycarbonate safety glasses (ANSI Z87.1), which offer maximum protection from projectiles. These are fire-resistant and cost less than fireworks. Distributing free safety glasses with firework purchases and banning bottle rockets have significantly reduced serious eye injuries in Norway. I wish India could also adopt this policy.

— The writer is Emeritus Professor, PGI, Chandigarh

Factcheck

Children are more prone to fireworks injuries as they are less alert, unaware of the dangers and more exposed as they are shorter in height and have short arms making their face closer to the firecrackers.

Some Do’s and Don’ts for a safe Diwali

Avoid synthetic or loose clothes. Wear closed shoes. Dispose of used crackers in a bucket of sand or water. Do not re-light or pick up failed firecrackers. Keep a bucket of water or fire extinguisher nearby. For minor burns, rinse the area with cool water until the burning sensation subsides and avoid applying unapproved substances. In case of an eye injury, do not rub the eye; instead, wash it gently with clean water and immediately take the child to an eye specialist or emergency of a hospital near you.

Source: PGI guidelines