The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Beware: those crackers can cost you your sight

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Nov 06, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Beware: those crackers can cost you your sight

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, NOV. 5 . Deepavali without fireworks is unimaginable and accidental injuries to the eye from fireworks are common, says Mohan Rajan, ophthalmologist and director of the T. Nagar-based Rajan Eye Care Hospital.

Over the past three years, his eye hospital has seen 500 fireworks-related injuries. Most cracker injury victims are children under 15. The injuries not only lead to physical and psychological disability, but also personality disorders, says Dr. Rajan.

Low awareness

Some time ago, an 18-year-old villager was brought to the hospital with an eye injury. He had been checking a firecracker that had not burst, when it went off injuring his right eye. The boy reached the hospital 48 hours later, by which time the eye was severely damaged. Twenty years ago the eyeball would have been removed, but now, with improved technology it is possible to restore vision, explains Dr. Rajan.

"Injuries to the eye are more common than we think. But awareness is low in our country though ophthalmology as a speciality is well developed." Of every 10 people injured in fireworks-related accidents, at least two may lose the eye.

As for the injured boy, "Luckily, he had not developed [an] infection though the eyeball had been damaged." In four weeks from now, another surgery will be performed when he might regain 50 per cent of his vision using a lens.

Usually cracker-related injuries affect the cornea, leading to loss of sight. Deepavali `rockets' cause the greatest harm as they rupture the eyeball. In such cases, the eyeball has to be removed.

And it's not uncommon; Dr. Rajan's hospital has 110 rocket-inflicted injuries over the past three years.

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