Pyro injuries, mishaps increase by 18 percent
The Department of Health (DOH-7) warns the public to exercise caution when using firecrackers to celebrate Christmas and New Year as firecracker accidents and injuries rose 18 percent in Central Visayas last year.
The health department recorded 99 injuries in the region from December 21, 2013 to January 2, 2014, up from 84 cases from December 21, 2012 to January 2, 2013.
Dr. Expedito Medalla, Health Emergency Management Staff (HEMS) program coordinator for DOH-7, said Cebu has the highest recorded number of incidents compared to other provinces in the entire region.
“We consider this as alarming because we always target zero injuries or casualties,” he said during a press conference yesterday.
Medalla said the victims are aged one year old to 65 years old with 11-year-old children being the most frequent victims.
Dangerous
Medalla said there were six blast/burn with amputations cases, 64 blast/burn without amputations, 16 eye injuries, one for another injury (in the body), two cases of injuries caused by stray bullets and one ingestion of watusi in Cebu from December 21, 2013 to January 2, 2014.
For the December 21, 2012 to January 2, 2013 period, the health department recorded nine cases of blast/burn with amputations, 58 cases of blast/burn without amputations, five eye injuries and two stray bullets in Cebu.
Medalla said parents should not use firecrackers at home since most of the ingestion cases happened at home. “Parents or the elders should not play firecrackers inside the house because it is also dangerous for their children,” he said.
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