Medical Experts Reveal that Injuries to Children Increase During Eid
MAKKAH — Emergency and safety and security experts said there are seven types of common accidents children encounter during Eid, Makkah newspaper reported.
Al-Khobar King Fahd University Hospital Emergency Ward Head Dr. Muhie Al-Deen Al-Wahhas said, “Children being injured during Eid is a social phenomenon in the Kingdom.”
“Saudi families do extreme activities or celebrate recklessly during Eid causing their children to be injured. Some of these accidents are quite fatal such as motorcycling accidents, fireworks accidents, being run over or drowning,” said Al-Wahhas.
He added the hospital received during Al-Fitr and Al-Adha Eids of last year a total of 35 critical accidents that resulted in injuries such as amputation of appendages and fingers, severe burn, mutations and injuries to the retina.
“The greater number of accidents during Eid happens in the Eastern Province as it is a tourism area and the pathway for people entering and leaving the Kingdom to go to other Gulf Countries,” said A-Wahhas.
Vocational Safety and Security expert Dr. Khalid Fikri said fireworks cause a lot of accidents injuring children and adults alike.
“Fireworks are very popular during Eid and unfortunately they are smuggled into the Kingdom easily and given to consumers easily as well without any regulations or restrictions. Children can buy fireworks from supermarkets and nearby shops,” said Fikri.
He added these fireworks contain chemicals and gases that are highly explosive and can lead to severe injuries, permanent mutations and deaths.
“These fireworks contain 21 chemical elements such as magnesium, lithium, aluminum, zinc, carbon and others that should only be handled by experts and should never be in the hands of children,” said Fikri.
Emergency Doctor Dr. Mohammad Al-Jamaan said most of the accidents during Eid are motorcycling accidents and dirt bike riding accidents.
“The number of patients in hospitals increases by the second day of Eid with accidents leading to severe burns, amputation of appendages and fingers and retina injuries. People also drown in water parks, cruise ships and swimming pools. Food poisoning also occurs and falling from rides in amusement parks,” said Al-Jamaan.
(Source: SaudiGazette.com.sa)