Decline in number of burn injury cases this year

LUCKNOW: The number of burn cases and consequent admissions to hospital saw a decline on Diwali, as firecrackers were allowed only for two hours between 8 pm and 10 pm this year.

There was a 41.11% decrease in the number of burn cases in civil hospital as compared to 2017, according to the data compiled by doctors.

Dr Ashutosh Dubey, medical superintendent of the hospital, said 53 burn injuries due to crackers were treated at the civil hospital from Wednesday afternoon (Diwali day) till Thursday morning (8 am) as against 90 similar cases in 2017.

He said around 24 patients with other injuries were treated during the same period. In total, around 1,400 patients including burn injuries and other problems were treated during the same period.

Dubey said two burn injuries caused due to crackers were major. The first case was of eight-year-old boy Tanmay who suffered over 20% burns. He was undergoing treatment in the burn unit of the hospital. The second case was of 38-year-old Manish Khare who suffered major burn injuries in his hand due to cracker blast. The doctor said some burn injuries were also caused due to fire by earthen diyas.

A similar trend was observed at the Trauma Centre of King George’s Medical University. As many as 30 burn injury patients were admitted here. A senior medical official said these cases were much less as compared to 43 in the previous year on Diwali.

Most of the victims were children. “Almost all the burn injuries were reported in children. The most common cause of injury was crackers bursting accidentally in their hands. These burns are not life-threatening but are severe enough,” said Dr Ashutosh Dubey. He said the decrease in burn injuries suggested that people had apparently become more aware and remained alert while bursting crackers.

Owing to bad air quality during winters, the Supreme Court had in October allowed the sale of only “green crackers” across India, which could be burst only between 8pm and 10pm on Diwali.