Bengaluru sees over 60 cracker injuries; three likely to suffer reduction in vision

Over 60 cases of cracker-related injuries have been reported in various hospitals during Deepavali festivities

Over 60 cases of cracker-related injuries have been reported in various hospitals during Deepavali festivities starting Sunday. With three bystanders, who are under treatment at the State-run Minto Ophthalmic Hospital, having suffered grievous injuries, doctors said they are likely to suffer significant reduction in vision in one eye. 

An 18-year-old male in Srirampura, a bystander who was rushed to Minto hospital on Sunday, after a cracker hit him, has suffered a globe rupture in his right eye. A 10-year-old girl from Dharmavaram and a 22-year-old from Bengaluru, also bystanders, have suffered severe injuries in the right eye resulting in a significant reduction in vision.

G. Nagaraju, director of Minto Hospital, said all the three have undergone surgeries and will need long-term treatment. A total of nine cases were being treated at Minto till Monday evening. 

A family whose six-year-old boy suffered a cracker injury in Bihar on November 12 rushed him to Narayana Nethralaya (NN) after getting first-aid at a local clinic there. Hospital chairman Rohit Shettty said the family was worried that their child may lose vision and immediately took a train to Bengaluru.

“They came with their baggage straight from the railway station to the hospital. Fortunately, the boy has not suffered a grievous injury and we are treating him conservatively,“ he said.

While NN has received a total of 24 cases this year, Sankara Eye Hospital and Agarwal’s Eye Hospital have received 28 and three cases, respectively. Dr. Shetty said 13 of the 24 cases seen at the hospital are children aged below 10. Nearly 90% of the cases are bystanders, he added.

“While the six children, including a three-year-old, have suffered corneal abrasions, two bystanders, including a tailor from Cottonpet, have suffered internal trauma. The tailor, who was walking across the road, was suddenly hit by a cracker that came flying from the air. This resulted in subluxation (partial dislocation) of  the lens and hyphema. He has undergone a surgery and we will have to wait and watch,” Dr. Shetty said.