Care for your eyes while playing Holi
   Date :19-Mar-2019

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
By Dr A H Madan,
 
Holi is played all over the world but in India, it is played on a very large scale. Every year, many cases are recorded due to careless use of synthetic colours and balloons. n Synthetic colours contains harmful chemical like copper sulphate, mercury sulphite, lead chromate, and irritants like sand, glass powder which could result in eye irritation or even in blindness.
 
The speckled shine in colours comes from silica and mica. These granular particles which make the colours shine brightly can cause damage to the cornea in the form of corneal abrasion later leading to corneal ulcer.
 
Various attractive colour are available of which green (containing copper) is more toxic to the eye. Other colours like purple, black, red containing different chemicals lead to skin diseases, respiratory diseases and silver is carcinogenic. n
 
Water balloons are the most dangerous and cause blunt trauma to the eye which may lead to bleeding in the eye, lenses subluxation or dislocation, macular edema or retinal detachment and other emergencies which require urgent management. This may lead to loss of vision of even loss of an eye.
 
Dirty water use in holi can be source of eye infection. n Around 17% of ocular chemical injuries are caused during Holi 3rd after occupational causes and Diwali.
 
In Nagpur GMC, last year about 17 patients attended casualty due to eye injuries during Holi of which 3 were seriously injured and lost eye sight permanently and 2-3 required admission and further follow up. Here are some of the tips to be followed during Holi. l Do not use kerosene or turpentine oil to remove the colour.
 
 
Do not vigorously rub you skin for removing the colour as it will fade off in a few days. l Apply coconut oil around the eye area and over skin this makes it easier for the colour to be wiped off. l In case, there is contact of eyes and skin with colours and it leads to a burning sensation, then the eyes can be washed with clean water and exposed skin can be washed with milk which leads to neutralisation of any acidity. l Use Herbal colors which are safe and do not cause injuries to the eyes, Red sandalwood powder can be used to make red colour, Henna powder for the bright green colour and turmeric powder for yellow colour. Herbal gullal is a also available in the market these days. l When traveling, keep the car windows properly shut so that balloons and water jets can be avoided. l Try to avoid people from applying colour all over your face with their hands. If you fail to do so, be especially careful in keeping your eyes and lips tightly shurt. Always request the person not to smear the colours near your eyes. l Avoid running or jumping on wet floors. l Children should wear plastic goggles with bands to prevent it from slipping which are used during swimming to avoid ocular injuries. l Keep a big bucket of water handy for your children, so that they do not resort to gutter water and other unclean sources and cause eye infections. l In case there is an eye injury due to a high speed balloon or stone, do not attempt to clean the eye as the water may be contaminated and cause infection. Shut the eye and rush to the nearest hospital. Do not let this festival of colours take away the colours from your life. (Author is Head, Department of Ophthalmology, Government Medical College and Hospital)