The Department of Health (DOH) today strongly advised parents not to allow children to use firecrackers or fireworks whether of the legal or illegal kind. “These devices are not toys and are very dangerous, especially in the hands of innocent children,” Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III said. “We recommend a ban on the use of these devices in residential areas and encourage local authorities to designate an area where fireworks could be lighted, displayed and handled by professionals or those who are trained in using explosive devices,” he added.
Health authorities said that the top 5 firecrackers that caused the most injuries in 2008 were (1) piccolo, (2) kwitis, (3) 5-star, (4) luces and (5) home-made or altered firecrackers.
“Piccolo, an illegal firecracker, continued to be the number one cause of injury during the last holiday season and it did not only cause minor injuries but also severe ones like the ruptured eyeball of a boy in Bicol,” Duque disclosed.
He explained that the public should always be cautious and not to regard the legal fireworks as safe because Kwitis and Luces, both legal fireworks, were No. 2 and No. 4 in the list.
“The seemingly harmless Luces can burn up to 1093 ºC (2000 ºF) or 10 times the boiling point of water,” Duque said.
Duque also disclosed that the top 5 Firecrackers causing “Blast Burn with Amputation” were (1) Home-made or Altered Firecrackers, (2) 5-star, (3) camara, (4) rebentador, (5) and whistle bomb.
DOH records show that Watusi, long considered as illegal, continued to sneak in the market and caused two cases of injuries this year. The youngest case was a 9-month old girl from Tondo, Manila who was left unattended in the house by her parents while an elder sibling played with Watusi. She was brought to the Philippine General Hospital for treatment.
The second case was a 31 year-old male from Rodriguez, Rizal with a history of psychiatric treatment. He allegedly ingested 2 boxes of Watusi. He was brought to East Avenue Medical Center for treatment. Both patients survived.
Health authorities said that there is also a significant increase in the number of stray bullet incidents caused by the indiscriminate firing of guns. These were reported in the two regions in Mindanao with no previous records.
ON-LINE REGISTRY
To further improve coordination among agencies and health facilities involved in injury prevention, the DOH is introducing the Online National Electronic Injury Surveillance System - an internet-based system that allows health facilities to report fireworks injury cases.
The 2008 Fireworks Injury Surveillance Report gathered by the DOH National Epidemiology Center recorded an all-time low in the total injuries reported compared to the previous four years' report.
Duque said that the 733 injuries reported from December 21, 2008 to January 5, 2009, is 280 (28%) cases lower than the previous four-year average, and 136 (16%) cases lower than the 2007 report.
The National Capital Region had the highest proportion of cases reported with 451 (61%) cases, followed by Western Visayas with 86 (12%) cases, and the Ilocos region with 58 (8%) cases.
The ages of cases ranged from 8 months old to 76 years old. Majority (594 or 81% cases) were males. A total of 261 (36%) cases were 10 years old or younger. However, the number of persons in each age group declined substantially, especially the 6 - 10 and the 11 - 15 age groups when compared to the previous year.
“We have total injuries of 714 (97%) cases which were fireworks-related, 17 (2%) cases were stray-bullet injuries and 2 (0.28%) cases were Watusi/firecracker powder ingestion”, Duque noted.
“The top three body parts which sustained most injuries were the hands with 277 (38%) cases, lower extremities with 130 (185) cases and head and neck with 103 (14%) cases. Most of the injured were discharged after initial treatment in the Emergency Room”, he added.
“The lone fatality reported, a 28 year-old mother from Cotabato City was a victim of stray bullet. That is why we should be vigilant in reporting indiscriminate gun-firing incidents during the holiday season to prevent this unnecessary and fatal events”, Duque lamented.
Meanwhile, there were no injury from organized public display nor tetanus due to fireworks injuries reported for 2008.
A total of 50 sentinel hospitals participated in the surveillance conducted for injuries resulting from fireworks use, stray bullet from indiscriminate firing, and watusi/firecracker powder ingestion related to the Yuletide celebration. The participating sentinel hospitals were located in the National Capital Region (29), Luzon (11), Visayas (5) and Mindanao (5).
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