Eye hospitals in the city reported more cases of firecracker-related eye injuries on the third day of Deepavali on Thursday but doctors said none of the cases is serious.
Most of the new cases are minor corneal abrasions and burns on the eyelid, which will not cause any permanent damage to the eyes.
While 18 new cases were reported at the three branches of Narayana Nethralaya (Rajajinagar, Richmond Road and Health City), 13 were reported at the State-run Minto Ophthalmic Hospital.
K. Bhujang Shetty, chairperson of Narayana Nethralaya, said none of the fresh cases were grievous. “It is unfortunate that despite awareness drives and campaigns, the number of cracker-related injuries are the same as last year. The worst [part] is that most of the injured are onlookers.”
Three serious
Citing the example of the three serious cases reported in the last two days in his hospital, Dr. Shetty said: “Except for nine-year-old Adarsh, 20-year-old Varun and 42-year-old Suresh, who are under treatment, all other cases are minor ones.”
Minto Hospital doctors said three of the 13 cases received since Wednesday night required admission but none is likely to lose vision.
While eight new cases were reported at Modi Eye Hospital, four more were reported at Rangalaksmi Nethralaya. Murali Kaushik from Sankara Eye Hospital said it treated 20 cases in the last three days. “Most of these are bystanders and onlookers,” a doctor said.
Burn cases drop
While burn cases showed a decline, two critical cases are under treatment in Victoria Hospital. In all, at least 200 people, mostly children, have suffered eye injuries this year.
