More than 300 cases of burn injuries were reported by various city hospital on Diwali while there was a slight rise in the number of people affected by allergy-related complications triggered by pollution.
Doctors at big hospitals in the national capital said people of various ages, sustained burn injuries from bursting of crackers, and only a few of these were serious in nature.
"145 persons with burn injuries were attended to at our hospital, out of which 11 were admitted. None of the cases were serious in nature. The total number of cases this year is 20 more than that reported last year," Safdarjung Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr A K Rai said, adding "manufacture and sale of crackers should be banned."
At Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Narayan Hospital (LNJP) about 80 burn cases were reported.
"Out of these, 78 were minor burn injuries reported yesterday. They were administered first-aid, while two persons had suffered burns on their faces, so they were admitted," LNJP Medical Superintendent J C Passey told PTI.
Fifty-seven and 26 burn cases were reported by Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital and the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH) respectively, officials said.
"All cases were minor injuries, so they just needed first-aid. The government and RML hospital authorities had created a lot of awareness through campaigns, so this may have reduced the number of cases reported here," a senior RML Hospital official said.
"Out of the 26 burn cases due to bursting of firecrackers, one was serious, and that person was admitted," SGRH authorities said.
Authorities at AIIMS' Trauma Centre said barring a few minor burn cases, nothing serious in nature was reported.
Ahead of Diwali, Delhi government had made a call to celebrate the festival sans fireworks as pollutant-loaded air hung heavy in the city, which they said emit cancer-causing smoke.
Besides fire-related injuries, the city also saw cases of allergy and asthma complications being reported on Diwali, though doctors said since the city's air has been polluted for a long time, the number of cases showed "no marked rise".
"Allergy, asthma and respiration-related complication cases have been coming at the hospitals on other days too. We didn't find any rise in those but yes, it was slightly more than reported on regular days," Passey said.
"People suffering from bronchial asthma, allergic rhinitis and other such ailments are more likely to develop such complications during Diwali due to fumes, smoke and pollution. But, it is only in the first 2-3 days of Diwali that we see such cases, after which it declines," he added.
Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, the premier pulmonary institute here said, the rush of patients to emergency ward was "usual".
According to a recent WHO report, Delhi was globally ranked among the top 20 cities worst-affected by pollution.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
