Diwali 2024: 7 Essential Tips To Reduce Pollution And Prevent Injuries During The Celebration

1. One of the most common health issues during Diwali is burn injuries. This should be prevented by wearing pure cotton clothes as synthetic fabrics catch fire easily. Closed shoes should be worn to avoid any burn injuries of feet. Wearing of any dupattas or any trailing piece of cloth to be avoided while lighting fire crackers. (Image source: Canva)

2. Lighting of candles or diyas during Diwali can prevent a lot of air pollution. Or people may use colourful LED lights available in markets. Air pollution can lead to irritation of eyes, nose, throat, skin leading to watering of eyes, sneezing, dry cough. It is advisable to stock up medications like nasal spray and anti-allergics. It may also aggravate symptoms of bronchial asthma or COPD causing respiratory distress and may end up in hospital. Patients may use face masks. (Image source: Canva)

3. Bursting of green crackers is better than normal crackers as it causes less pollution and also should produce a sound less than 125 dB. As more sound producing crackers can cause hearing loss, headache, anxiety, worsening of hypertension or cardiac diseases, etc. (Image source: Canva)

4. It is better to stay indoors specially during the evening hours for patients suffering from Bronchial Asthma, COPD or cardiac disorders as inhaling the gases emitted from fire crackers can aggravate the symptoms. Patients should also keep all the required medications such as inhalers available with them. (Image source: Canva)

5. It is also advisable to avoid doing exercises outdoor during this period of time as pollution levels will be higher. (Image source: Canva)

6. It is recommended to limit outdoor activities of children during this time. If children are bursting green crackers then they must do it under proper supervision of adults to avoid burn injuries. (Image source: Canva)

7. Patients suffering from dyslipidemia or ischemic heart diseases should avoid fried items and ghee products. Patients suffering from diabetes mellitus must avoid sweets which we exchange during Diwali. People should have a balanced diet rich with green leafy vegetables, lean proteins and fruits. (Image source: Canva)

Inputs By: Dr. Projoy Kr. Mukherjee; Consultant Physician, Techno India Group Dama Hospital (Image source: ABP Live AI)