Healthy and Safe Diwali Awareness Tips

By Pooja Kulkarni

Wellness Consultant Just for Hearts

Festival of Celebrationó Diwali the festival of lights brings fun

and togetherness.

ó For children fireworks new clothes and sweets make this festival the most eagerly awaited of the year.

ó Finally Diwali is a family festival. It

including kids, seniors or even your Pets.

ó But ensure that the Festival of Lights

Safety Tips for all…..ó All accidents due to fireworks occur as a result of

carelessness, negligence and ignorance.

ó But these can certainly be avoided by observing some very simple precautions. All of us enjoy the pleasure of light and sound but when disaster strikes the injured has to bear the cross.

ó If you're going to set off fireworks at home this year, please take a few minutes to read through the guidelines.

Safety tips for Kids “Never allow your kids to play with fireworks unattended”

ó Supervise children while they light fireworks. Make them light fireworks outside the house

ó Keep flower pots and chakras on even flat ground while lighting them

ó Have them light up rockets only on open ground.

ó Ensure proper distance from the fireworks away at a distance while they are lighting them. Have them hold sparklers away from the body

ó Make sure they are wearing closed footwear and closefitting clothes of thick material instead of loose or flowing garments while lighting fireworks

ó Keep a water bucket and burn ointment or aloe vera gel handy

ó Check the area before igniting fireworks to ensure that no inflammable materials are near

ó Ensure they light only one firework at a time

ó Discard used fireworks in a bucket of water

Tips for Others

ó Store your fireworks safely:ó In a closed box, somewhere cool and dry, out of

reach of children and animals and away from all sources of heat, until the time they're needed.

ó Locked away is best. Don't keep the box under

Pets hate bangs and flashes

ó Pets get very frightened on fireworks night, so keep all your pets indoor and close all the curtains to make things calmer.

ó Remember it's not just your own fireworks that cause distress, so you may have to have your pets indoors on several nights when other displays are taking place.

Watch what you wear

ó Loose clothing can very easily catch fire, and should not be worn near any fire or fireworks.

ó Long dangly scarves can be risky too.

ó If anyone's clothing does catch fire, follow the rule: Stop - Don't run.

ó Drop to the ground. Roll to put out the flames.

One at a time please

ó Don't allow anyone else -especially children - to do so while your display is going on.

ó Let the fireworks off one at a time (not lots at once) and don't rush.

ó Light the tip of each firework at arm's length, using fireworks lighter or fuse wick. Stand well back immediately.

Different fireworks mean different hazards

ó Read the instructions on each one carefully (by flashlight, never an open flame) and follow them properly.

ó Rockets, for instance, should be launched from a rocket launcher, not from a bottle.

ó Sparklers need careful handling -light them one at a time at arm's length.

ó Don't give one to any child under 5 years of age; and put each spent one into a bucket of water as soon as it's gone out.

No foolingó Putting fireworks in your

pocket is stupid and dangerous.

ó Throwing fireworks at people is stupid and dangerous and illegal; it's a criminal offense to do so.

ó Drinking alcohol presents an added danger when there are fireworks and bonfires around. So don't drink during your fireworks display.

Have you thought over it?

ó Unfortunately, in recent times Diwalihas lost its original connotation, and now the celebration is mostly about burning firecrackers.

ó People of India spend thousands of rupees over the same without realizing that this is affecting the environment as well as the health of individuals.

“Deepavali, where Deep means earthen lamps and Avali means a string”

No Fireworks

Do you know it affects environment? ó Fire-crackers have Highly toxic heavy metals like

cadmium, lead, copper, manganese, zinc, sodium, magnesium and potassium, Sulphates and phosphates, nitrites and nitrates.

ó The smoke that emanates from crackers pollutes the air as well as the environment

ó The smoke contains tiny metallic particles and produces smog making air unfit to breathe

ó The Carbon Dioxide emitted while burning firecrackers is a major cause for global warming.

ó Diwali also sees a great amount of non-biodegradable dry waste in the form of papers, plastics and firework covers causing soil pollution.

Noise Pollutionó Noise is unwanted sound and measured in decibels

(dB).

ó Firecrackers produce sounds which are much higher in decibels tolerable for the human ear.

ó During Diwali the decibel levels go up to 125 dB which is equivalent to the noise produced by a military jet at the time of take off.

ó The noise level allowed by the Government is only 55 dB during daytime and 45dB during night

Health effects…

ó The suspended particles in the air because of burning firecrackers cause allergic conditions to skin, eye, throat and nose.

ó Diseases like Bronchitis and Asthma get aggravated due to the suspended particles

ó Children from the age of 6 to 16 are more susceptible to breathing problems because of the smoke.

ó The heavy metals used in the firecrackers affects the lungs of people causing permanent damage.

ó The Sulphur Dioxide emanated by the crackers also affects plant life and their productivity.

ó Noise pollution results in hearing loss, high blood pressure, heart attack and sleep disorder.

ó Unsafe practices also result in many burn injuries which could have been avoided.

ó Last but not the least, the effect of firecrackers on birds and animals is cataclysmic. Animals like dogs and cats have a more sensitive sense of hearing than humans.

ó Let us re-establish the essence of Diwali by being sensitive to the environment.

ó Diwali can be celebrated with earthen lamps, sweets and togetherness.

ó It is time to go green this Diwali. Pollution-crackers are also available, though very expensive.

ó This year let us burn these crackers in small quantities just for the spirit of Diwali.

THANK YOU