Go easy on sweets,crackers: Prescription for safe Diwali

With most crackers crossing the permissible level of 45-55 decibel in residential areas,damage to hearing is also a common problem. “Senior citizens and newly born infants must be especially careful since their ear drums are delicate. Windows should be shut and proximity to bombs must be avoided,” said Dr Renuka Bradoo,head of the ENT department at Sion Hospital. “We get as many as five cases a day of hearing-related problems during Diwali,some of them leading to irreparable damage. Asthma patients should wear masks when exposed to toxic cracker smoke,” Bradoo added.

Following cases of food adulteration,the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has appealed to people to go easy on the sweets. “We have ordered sweet and oil manufacturers to go through many testing rounds before packaging the food. However,people must also be careful. Coloured sweets and oily foods should be bought with caution,especially if they look stale. All packaged foods must be checked for date of expiry,” said Dr Suresh Deshmukh,Assistant Commissioner (Food),FDA.

Doctors in civic hospitals will be working round-the-clock to address any injuries that may occur in the next few days. “We are well equipped to deal with any sort of injury,” said Dr Sanjay Oak,director of the major civic hospitals.