Known as the festival of light and an occasion for family gathering, Diwali celebrations could also become a source of woe in the form of uncalled for accidents due to careless handling of firecrackers or even poor quality of crackers. Keeping this in mind, Image Medical Center, a private healthcare facility, has launched a 24-hour Diwali helpline number recently.
The public service helpline will provide immediate consultancy on first aid and after care measures for injuries, burns and wounds that are common during Diwali.
As part of the facility, burns specialist Dr. Anup Dhir can be consulted anytime on 24-hour Burn Assistance Helpline – 09312377554 from November 10 to 17.
A senior consultant with the Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, Dr. Dhir said: “Although the depth of burns depends on the degree of heat, skin’s thickness and the time for which it was exposed to the heat, timely intervention and correct first aid can reduce the severity of a burn appreciably.”
He added: “Most people don’t understand that with a little care and safer methods of handling fire, accidents can be averted.” For a safe and joyous Diwali, one should read and follow the label directions given on cracker boxes. Anars , for example, should never be lit while in the hand as they can burst yet a large number of burns at Diwali are associated with them. One should never carry fireworks in the pocket as explosives can go off even when unlit. Supervision should be given to children at all times during bursting crackers.
Dr. Dhir said that 95 per cent of burn injuries are accidental where prevention is simply not enough.
