Fewer eye injuries this year

There were fewer eye injuries this Deepavali, with most of the hospitals recording minor cases.

Narayana Nethralaya, which saw 38 cases last year, attended to only 11 cases of cracker-related eye injuries this year, according to Uma, hospital manager. All were minor injuries.

“Out of the 11 cases, 10 were children. Some had slightly deeper injuries. But they were not severe,” she said. Three of the injured were bystanders. One of them was an adult aged 50, while the rest were all children, some as young as three.

The state-run Minto Ophthalmic centre saw 14 cases of eye injuries, of which eight were reported on Sunday. Four were bystanders who sustained simple injuries.

“A majority of the victims are children. The youngest here is a two-and-a-half-year-old. Many were innocent bystanders,” said Dr Sujatha Rathod, Minto Ophthalmic Hospital.

A three-year-old who was injured while lighting a flower pot was also brought to the hospital.

At Sankara Eye Hospital, 10 cases were reported, all of which were children.

“We saw five patients with cracker-related injuries, two of which were on Sunday and three on Monday. The injuries were minor in nature and there was no threat to vision. These were all corneal abrasions. It may take one or two days to heal. One of the patients had the eyelashes burnt due to heat,” said Dr Rajashekar Y L, medical director, Shekar Hospital.