The festival of lights is nearly here and residents are gearing up to celebrate. But, amidst the festival cheer, doctors have sounded a note of caution, asking parents and caregivers to be careful when it comes to children and fire.
“Children between two and three years are both curious and unaware of the risks associated with burns. On Deepavali, parents should be especially careful about loose clothes catching fire, children touching lit lamps and going too close to firecrackers. The only way to prevent injuries is constant supervision,” said Roshini Gopinathan, consultant paediatric plastic surgeon, Apollo Children’s Hospital.
Eye specialists urge caution with firecrackers. “Always use long incense sticks or candles to light firecrackers, and keep your elbow joint straight to increase the distance between the body and the crackers,” said Amar Agarwal, chairman, Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Hospital. Most cracker injuries occur in children below 15 years, and rockets especially, need to be handled cautiously, said Mohan Rajan, chairman, Rajan Eye Care Hospital.
The high decibel noise can also affect pets, so owners should take extra care and try to shield them from the noise and pollution, also watching out for unusual behaviour and bites, experts said.
To gear up for a possible spate of cases, Government Kilpauk Hospital, the State’s nodal centre for burn injuries, has set up a special 11-bed ward. “Every year, we get about 65 cases during this period, some of whom need to be admitted. Everything is ready so we can treat patients as soon as they come in,” said J. Jaganmohan, head, burns and plastic surgery department.
Deepavali is generally a busy day for GVK EMRI, the firm that runs the 108 ambulance service. “In addition to burns, there are many accidents. The day after Deepavali, we get cases relating to diabetes complications, abdominal pain and breathing difficulties. In case of any emergency, residents can call 108,” said B. Prabhudoss, head, marketing and hospital relations, GVK EMRI.
Last year, on Deepavali day, GVK EMRI recorded the highest number of emergencies in a single day – with 3,024 cases across the State.
