Yesterday morning I saw nearly 100s of kids and adults were playing with colours in our apartment common areas.Some of them came to our flat too ..but we strictly avoided as my son has running nose and bad dry cough ...Even I saw some toddlers and infants too .we talked about the artificial colour agents and really no one is ready to bother about that ...Today morning I saw the shocking news in TV...
The vibrant colours of Holi turned dull for about 200 children from Mumbai who suffered colour poisoning this Thursday while celebrating the festival of colours.The children, ranging in age from eight to ten year olds, were admitted to hospital after they started showing allergic reactions to the synthetic colours used by them. The hospital authorities stated that they have been given medications and all were in stable condition.A duty medical officer from Lokmanya Tilak general hospital at Sion said, “So far 176 children have been admitted to the hospital with complaints of skin allergy, burning of eyes, giddiness and vomiting. More and more cases are coming in since the afternoon. They seem to have played with colours with some chemical elements.”Besides the children, there were also complaints from some adults who were admitted following similar allergic reactions.
Most of the patients who suffered allergic reactions to the colours used in the Holi celebration hailed from south-central Mumbai. Though some of the cases were critical when admitted, all responded well to treatment and stabilised, hospital officials stated.The concentration of the affected from that area alerted the police, who are now looking into the matter and trying to trace the source of the poisonous colours.“The children, mostly in age group of 9-10 years, were rushed in to the municipal hospital and slowly more and more cases started pouring in,” a source at the hospital said blood samples of the affected children were collected and medication was administered.
The colours used in holi are essentially chemicals and can have serious side effects . For example, red is mercury sulphite, green is copper sulphate, purple is made from chromium and bromide compounds and black has lead oxide. Their usage can lead to skin irritation, allergies, hair loss, edema and erythema and even blindness. You can choose to play with natural colors or with plain water. There are a lot of ways to create natural colors – you can use turmeric, beetroot and mehandi (henna) for common colors. You can be creative and make even more colors from household stuff. Ensure that you speak to the parents of his/her potential playmates so that they also play holi without these chemicals. However, it is always better to prepare your children in case others are playing with these colors. A generous helping of cold cream on the body, and oil on the hair and scalp should help. Clearly instruct your child to close his/her eyes if someone applies colour on her head or face, or throws colored water towards him/her.
With these precautions, you can be sure your child is going to have a fun-filled holi with memories to last a lifetime. Please think twice before buying any product which is very attractive in colour.....I am going to write in detail about this artificial substances and preservatives in my next post .
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