Eighteen students of a Panchayat Union Primary School at Sillanatham, including 14 girls, were admitted to the Tuticorin Government Medical College Hospital on Tuesday after they complained of skin itching
Hospital sources said a dermatologist screened the children and diagnosed it to be skin allergy.
The affected children were treated in the paediatric ward and their condition was said to be normal.
Under observation
A few of the children had developed mild swelling in their hands due to itching. The children would be kept under observation for a while and discharged later, sources added.
Collector M. Ravikumar enquired about the health of the children admitted to the hospital.
Ottapidaram Tahsildar M. Senthivel said initially a few students developed itching after using the school toilet and subsequently others also suffered a similar plight. It is suspected that the students might have touched some plants, causing itching.
Several villagers, who turned up at the hospital, claimed that discharge of effluents from a nearby chemical factory was the reason for the problem.
