Firecracker effect: 10-year-old bystander suffers burns to eyes in Bengaluru

Doctors, who said the boy has blurry vision in one eye, advised him regular follow-up

A 10-year-old bystander in Padarayanapura was brought to Minto Eye Hospital on Monday with burns to both his eyes caused by firecrackers.

The boy had been brought within an hour of suffering the injury and is being treated as an outpatient at the hospital.

Doctors, who said he has blurry vision in one eye, advised him regular follow-up. He is said to be recovering and would be checked again on Thursday.

Read | How to prevent eye injuries due to firecrackers

"His skin and eyelashes were burnt,” Dr Sujatha Rathod, director of Minto Hospital said, adding that large portions of his head and forehead have also been scorched by firecrackers.

“We found chemical deposits on the corneal surface, which has been brought to the surface and removed," Dr Sujatha said. She cautioned that even green crackers have barium and potassium that are harmful.

“Vision has dropped in one of the eyes, but the boy is recovering,” she said. “In a week, we will come to know if he will recover or if his vision can be fully restored.”

She said chemicals cause heat when they react in the eye, while thermal injuries additionally burn the skin. “Barium is mostly present in green crackers and can be poisonous if ingested orally or inhaled in large amounts,” Dr Sujatha said, noting that it is more dangerous than other chemicals.

“Most other chemicals cause only 30% reaction.”

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