Women, kids prone to Diwali burn injuries

New Delhi: With Diwali approaching, experts warn against a high incidence of burn injuries and claim that women are most prone to such injuries because they are involved in elaborate cooking and other household chores during festivities, including lighting diyas.

According to experts, the other contributing factor is the loose fitting clothes such as saris and dupattas which catch fire easily. Most burn injuries are sustained by women aged between 16 and 35 years. Children also sustain burn injuries while bursting crackers. Unsupervised and careless handling of firecrackers during Diwali leads to an increased incidence of injuries.

Experts further claimed that women belonging to the lower socio-economic groups are at a very high risk of sustaining burns as they tend to engage in cooking at the floor level in relatively unsafe kitchens and wear loose fitting clothes. The most common mode of burn injury is a flame burn. Most such incidents are related to malfunctioning kerosene pressure stoves.

“It was found that most patients receive burn injuries during Diwali due to carelessness or use of firecrackers in an unintended way. Occasionally, it is due to the firecrackers behaving erratically,” said experts.

“When it comes to burns, prevention is certainly better than cure. Burn treatment can go on for months and is very painful. It is important to remember that every year, in the midst of festivities, we invite disaster. By remaining cautious, we can definitely prevent ourselves and our loved ones from falling victim to this major public health problem,” said Dr Rajeev B Ahuja, the past president of the International Society for Burn Injuries (ISBI).