Beware! Green crackers are red when it comes to safety of children

They are not chemical-free and cause thermal and mechanical damage to the eyes

Green crackers are not chemical-free, and chemicals could also cause thermal and mechanical injuries, ophthalmologists say.

They, therefore, are not going to be safe for children as young as nine or those around 14, who usually land up at eye hospitals with injuries. Last year, for instance, the government-run Minto Ophthalmic Hospital treated 48 cases of firecracker injuries.

Since 2008, the injury cases treated ranged from 60 to 65. Twenty-six bystanders landed up with injuries last year, while 22 are self-inflicted. While most of the injured bystanders were adults, the injured children were those actively participating in cracker-bursting.

While there were nine grievous injuries — meaning the patients were blinded, others had moderate injuries with swelling and bleeding.

The penetrating injuries included corneal tear, iris prolapse, scleral tear and intraocular foreign bodies.

Emergency services

Minto has placed beds at a six-feet distance at the male, female, and pediatric wards due to the pandemic. These are specially set up to treat cracker-related eye injuries and will be functional 24/7.

“Over 40% of those generally injured are children under the age of 14,” said Dr Sujatha Rathod, Director, Minto Ophthalmic Hospital. “Each room will have only two beds. Due to the pandemic, we don’t have in-patients.”

No in-patients this year

Dr Sujatha added that most surgeries are done on an outpatient basis and patients have been sent home. Ten doctors and paramedics will be on round-the-clock duty at the hospital. The 24/7 cracker-related emergency will continue till November 20.

Last year, Shekar Eye Hospital had 15 eye injury cases over three days. Twelve of those cases came with redness, burns and foreign body injuries. Doctors gave a thorough eyewash and gave procaine drops (local anaesthetic) and did a slit lamp examination.

Two of those patients suffered lid tear and one had corneal injury that was serious. Three of the patients were bystanders. “We’ll allow only the patients and not the attenders due to the pandemic,” said Usha B K, Chief Operating Officer, Shekar Eye Hospital. “The surgery will be shown (to the attenders) live by Zoom.”

The average age of patients treated at the hospital for cracker injuries last year ranged from 10 to 16, while the bystanders were aged between 34 and 40.

The Sankara Eye Hospital saw 25 to 30 cracker injury cases last year. While most of them were middle-aged, 20 to 30% of them were young. About five required surgery.

“We performed corneal tear repair in three patients. The remaining had scratches on the cornea and redness,” explained Dr Anand Balasubramaniam, Senior Consultant, Cornea and Cataract Services, Sankara Eye Hospital.

Two of the patients were boys less than 12 years, while one patient had a corneal scleral tear. “The first thing to do (in such cases) is to clean the eye with running water. This will dilute the effect,” Dr Anand said.