Dussehra Safety Tips: How to Avoid Burns, Eye and Ear Injuries

Dussehra is about crowds, bright lights and the sight of Ravan going up in flames. However, it is also a night when hospitals see burns, eye injuries and ringing ears that could have been avoided. These Dussehra safety tips can help your family stay safe.

They cover what to do before, during and after the burning, including first aid if something goes wrong. Most injuries come from standing too close, so bystanders get hurt as well as the people lighting the effigy.

Dussehra Safety Tips: Why Distance Matters

A Ravan effigy is a tall frame of bamboo, paper and cloth, often packed with crackers. Once lit, it burns fast, throws sparks and can lean or fall toward the crowd.

So stand well back, beyond any barricade. If you can feel heat on your face, step back. Also keep children and older family members away from the front, and hold a young child’s hand rather than letting them run ahead.

Dussehra Safety Tips to Prevent Burns

A few simple habits lower the risk a lot:

• Wear cotton or other natural fabrics. Synthetic clothes can melt onto the skin.
• Keep loose cloth away from the fire. Dupattas, sarees and long sleeves catch easily.
• Never go near a cracker that didn’t go off. Leave it alone, and let the organisers deal with it.
• Leave the lighting to trained people. Children should watch from a safe spot.
• If clothes catch fire, don’t run. Stop, drop to the ground and roll.

First Aid for a Burn

If someone is burnt, act quickly and calmly:

1. Move away from the fire. Put out any flames on clothing.
2. Cool the burn under cool running water for 20 minutes. Start straight away. Cool only the burnt area, and don’t put the whole body in cold water.
3. Take off rings and tight clothes near the burn before it swells. However, don’t pull off anything that is stuck to the skin.
4. Cover it loosely with clean cling film or a clean, non-stick cloth.
5. Don’t use ice, butter, oil, toothpaste or creams, and don’t burst blisters. They can make the burn worse and are painful to remove later.

The British Red Cross has a clear guide to burn first aid if you want to read more.

When a Burn Needs a Hospital

Don’t wait if the burn:

• Is on the face, hands, feet, groin or over a joint
• Is bigger than the person’s palm
• Looks deep, white, waxy, brown or black, or feels numb
• Is on a child, even if it looks small
• Comes with coughing, a hoarse voice or soot around the nose or mouth (smoke may have been breathed in)

Also get it checked within a day if there are large blisters, severe pain, or if the person has diabetes. For serious burns, call 108.

Dussehra Safety Tips for Your Eyes

Sparks and fragments can fly a long way. In one hospital study of firework eye injuries in Eastern India, six in ten of the people hurt were bystanders, and most were under 20. The study looked at Diwali, but the risk is the same for any cracker-filled event. The American Academy of Ophthalmology gives similar advice.

Keep your face turned away and children well back. The right first aid depends on what hit the eye.

If a cracker or fragment hits the eye:

• Don’t rub it, press on it or try to rinse it
• Leave anything stuck in it alone
• Skip drops and ointments
• Go to a hospital straight away

If chemical, powder or liquid gets into the eye: rinse straight away with plenty of clean running water for at least 15 minutes, keeping the eye open, then go to hospital. Don’t wait to get to the hospital before rinsing.

Dussehra Safety Tips for Ears and Breathing

Crackers close by can be loud enough to damage hearing at once. So stay back from the noise, and use earplugs or earmuffs for children. If your ears ring or feel blocked the next day, see a doctor.

Smoke from the effigy and crackers can also set off coughing and wheezing. If you or your child has asthma or COPD, keep the inhaler with you, take your regular medicines, and watch from a distance, away from the smoke.

The Bottom Line

Dussehra can be enjoyed safely. Stand back, keep children away from the front, and wear natural fabrics. Cool a burn for 20 minutes. When a cracker hurts an eye, don’t rub it and go to hospital, but if a chemical or powder gets in, rinse with clean water first.

📚 References:

British Red Cross. Burns and scalds: first aid advice.

Apollo 24/7. Guide to first aid for burns.

American Academy of Ophthalmology. 10,000 Reasons to Leave Fireworks to the Professionals.

Firework related ocular injuries in Eastern India: a clinico-epidemiological analysis (2017–2020). Indian Journal of Ophthalmology, 2021;69(12):3538–3544.

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). Protect Your Hearing This July 4th.

SDDM Hospital, Channi Himmat, Jammu Multi-Specialty Care 📍 Channi Himmat, Jammu | 📞 +91-191-2464637 | 🌐 sddm.hospital

Planning to take the family out this Dussehra? In an emergency, call 108 or go to the nearest emergency department. For burn care, follow-up or eye and ear concerns afterwards, the team at SDDM Hospital®, Jammu can help. Call +91-191-2464637 or find a doctor on our website, or see our Internal Medicine team.