13-year-old loses sight while bursting crackers

The festive celebrations for Diwali were marred by several unfortunate incidents of eye injuries and burns in the city this year. 

Thirteen-year-old Sadiha Banu received an eye injury in DJ Halli as she went to check a flower pot. It suddenly lit up and the sparks directly hit her right eye rupturing her eyeball. She was rushed to Minto Eye Hospital where she underwent a surgery.

“Banu has undergone a surgery for an eye globe rupture. We have managed to restore the structural integrity of the eye, however, it is doubtful if the functional integrity would be restored,” said Dr B L Sujatha, medical director, Minto Eye Hospital.

According to Dr Sujatha, about nine patients visited the hospital from Tuesday for eye injuries and most were bystanders.

Monesh, a 7-year-old boy, was also admitted for eyeball rupture to Minto Hospital on Wednesday. Unlike Sadiha, Monesh was a bystander watching an atom bomb being lit. The cracker exploded near him and he suffered a corneal tear in the right eye and lower lid laceration. He too underwent a surgery at the hospital. Divya, another patient with an eye injury, was also admitted to the hospital. Besides Minto, a number of private eye hospitals reported eye injury cases. At Shankara Eye hospital, four people visited with eye injuries caused due to crackers. 

At Nethradhama Eye Hospital, six people arrived with eye injuries caused due to flower pots and rockets. Doctors from the hospital said that most of the injuries were skin and eye burns and they were treated as outpatients. Of the patients who visited, two were children and two others were bystanders.

At Narayana Nethralaya, four patients with eye injuries were treated as outpatients.  

Three patients were also admitted to the burn ward at Victoria Hospital. Joseph, 27, was sleeping when the mat he was lying on caught fire because of a cracker. According to doctors, Joseph suffered severe burn injuries and will take time to recover. Two children also suffered burn injuries to the face and hands. They are also recuperating at the hospital.

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