An analysis of ocular firecracker injuries in five consecutive years during a festive season in a tertiary eye care hospital in South India

Abstract

An analysis of ocular firecracker injuries in five consecutive years during a festive season in a tertiary eye care hospital in South India, Expert Review of Ophthalmology, 11:3, 235-240, ABSTRACT Background: To analyse the presentation of ocular firecracker injuries during a festival celebration in five consecutive years. Methods: We retrospectively analysed 541 patients with cracker injuries who presented to a tertiary eye care hospital during the fortnight of Deepavali for five consecutive years. The parameters studied were the age and sex, environmental factors, type of firework, eye involved and whether the involved person was a passer-by or actively involved. Results: Children up to 15 years, males and bystanders were seen to be affected more frequently. The most common firework involved was the flower pots. Conclusions: Fire cracker related ocular injuries are an important public health problem in India where celebrations are not complete without lighting crackers. This study brings to light the importance of safety measures and emphasises the need for restrictive firework legislation which has proved to reduce such injuries in countries across the world.

Iniciativa de prohibición de los fuegos artificiales, a propósito de un caso, Instituto Mexicano de Oftalmología

“…En EE.UU., cerca de la mitad de los lesionados son menores de edad, y de las lesiones oculares, un tercio provocaron la ceguera 2,3 . La comisión de la seguridad a 74% probability of no light perception at 6 months.…”

“…En la India, uno de cada doce menores de edad que presentaron lesiones oculares por fuegos artificiales atendidos en las salas de urgencias presentó ceguera unilateral 2 . En el sur de la India, el 71% de los lesionados por fuegos artificiales fueron espectadores 3 .…”

Review on physicochemical properties of pollutants released from fireworks: environmental and health effects and prevention

“…India (Kumar et al 2010;Elangovan et al 2016) and Iran (Mansouri et al 2007;Saadat et al 2010;Vaghardoost et al 2013;Hatamabadi et al 2013). These studies found that over 80% patients were males and 70% patients were younger than 18 years, indicating that ocular injuries resulting from fireworks are significantly a male and a paediatric problem (Sundelin et al 2000).…”

Festival Related Eye Trauma in India: Causes, Prevention & Management

“…Moreover, the brutal force through which a foreign object hit the eye factors in the severity of the injury. The type of chemicals used in the fire crackers can also be a cause of these injuries [6]. In many of the cases reported, the eye injuries are caused due to a mixture of these three which causes a lot of damage to the eye and might result in loss of vision [7].…”