BEIRUT -

With Eid al-Fitr approaching, children eagerly awaited to play and have fun outside the home, especially to buy fireworks and beaded pistols with firecrackers to celebrate the coming of Eid, many are unaware of the dangers and grave damage it can cause to their safety.

And every year, injuries to the eyes and burns to the skin and face abound in children, despite the constant warning of the negative phenomenon of the use of these fireworks spread in our societies, and the attempt to educate parents and community members about its dangers.

Fireworks carry dangerous sparks and users think they are safe and they are not (Pixels)

Firecracker spark hit his eye

Nadia Al-Rifai, a housewife, suffers from firecrackers, as her son Ahmed (5 years) was injured in the eye, causing permanent damage to her, but he did not lose his sight.

Nadia says, "I admit that we were not aware of the dangers of these games or the extent of their harm, and we encouraged him to buy them with his friends to celebrate outside on Eid days, until the calamity happened and sparks flew from the firecrackers and reached his eyes."

Therefore, Nadia asks all parents to be careful of the dangers of these toys, even pistols, which may also cause eye damage.

This is not a joke, but a matter of life. It is rare for the injured person to escape from these explosives without being disfigured by burns or suffering a disability, as she tells Al Jazeera Net.

Marwan Darwish does not accept that his children buy beaded pistols, plastic balls or firecrackers during the holidays (Al-Jazeera)

Away from the dangers of fireworks

Marwan Darwish is a father of two boys who never accepts the idea of ​​his children buying guns with beads or plastic balls to throw, or firecrackers during the holidays, in order to keep them safe.

He walks with them and participates in all recreational activities, but away from the dangers of useless fireworks, and he constantly advises them not to make mistakes that may lead to bodily harm, falls, fractures or burns.

According to Darwish, it is necessary to know the challenges that could pose a danger to the safety and danger of children on the days of Eid, and it is necessary to educate children about them so that they can avoid and prevent them.

Medical advice and advice

Dr. Bilal Aladdin, a specialist in eye diseases, surgery and laser therapy, calls on all parents to be careful of fireworks that endanger the lives of their children on the days of Eid, and the celebrations turn into sorrows, crying and dangers.

Therefore, it is necessary to preserve the safety of the child during the Eid and protect him from the damages of firecrackers:

Doctor Aladdin calls for the need to raise awareness among children of the dangers of these pistols and explosives and the disasters they cause (Al-Jazeera)

  • Refrain completely from buying these dangerous toys and the necessity of educating parents about the danger of fireworks on the eyes or getting burns.

  • In the event that crackers or guns with plastic balls are launched, the children must be under the supervision and supervision of the parents.

  • It is necessary to wear safety goggles, in addition to gloves, to avoid burning hands.

  • It is necessary for some associations and the media to carry out some awareness programs so that the Eid passes peacefully without exposing the child to dangers threatening his safety.

  • It is necessary to know the correct ways to deal with damage if it occurs well, with the need to educate children about the dangers of these games and the disasters they cause.

Are injuries repeated every holiday?

Dr. Alaa El-Din regrets that every Eid he still receives a huge number of eye injuries among children due to the use of fireworks, especially bead pistols, without parental supervision.

Unfortunately, what he sees with his eyes is either cases that cause permanent disability or loss of vision. The ashes resulting from the combustion process harm the skin and the eyes if the child is directly exposed to it, as the eye suffers burns in the eyelid and conjunctiva, tearing the eyelid, and causing foreign bodies to enter the eye or Retinal detachment, which may lead to total loss of the eye.

Aladdin adds that these fireworks carry dangerous sparks, and their users think that they are safe, and what some do not know is that their temperature is up to 4 times the temperature of boiling oil for frying, meaning that it is very dangerous, to the point that igniting 3 sticks of these sparks together generates the same heat Generated by a metal welding torch.

Aladdin explained that most injuries are in the eye in which the cornea has been damaged, whether by burning or partial loss of vision, or as a lifelong scar.

There are also difficult cases in which the entire eye was removed as a result of severe damage.

He ends his speech to Al Jazeera Net that if the disaster occurs, the child must be admitted directly to the hospital to be followed up by the specialist doctor, as these burns are thermal and not chemical, meaning that no first aid can be done for the affected person except to speed up his admission to the hospital to save him.