In the joy and revelry that surround Holi, most of us forget to take care of our eyes. Your eyes are extremely delicate, and vulnerable to the harmful effects of chemical colours that you play with, and also trauma.
In addition, even though the precautions seem tedious, you must be careful. Remember, prevention is better than cure.
Choose your Holi colours wisely
Remember most Holi colours are toxic chemicals which can cause irritation, severe allergic reactions, burns, and even blindness. It is, therefore, important to use natural colours, most of these are made of extracts of flowers like tesu, marigold and harsingar or turmeric. In fact, you must ensure that the water you use for mixing the colour is clean too.
Precautions during playing Holi
- Wear a close fitting cap and sunglasses. They act as a barrier, and protect your eyes.
- Also, apply a thick layer of cold cream or coconut oil around the eyes to protect the delicate skin around the eyes.
- When playing Holi, with either dry or wet colours, make sure to close your eyes. In fact, even when washing the colour off, make sure your eyes are shut.
- Give people adequate warning before drenching them with coloured water or dry colours so they are prepared for the onslaught, and can close their eyes, and/ or shield them with their hands.
- Do not force people to join the revelry, especially if they are not prepared to be part of the celebrations.
- If your hands are dirty and colour stained, avoid touching your eyes altogether.
- While washing off the colour, keep your eyes tightly closed and use warm water.
- Use a mild, hypoallergenic soap, and do not scrub the delicate under eye skin too hard.
Precautions while travelling during Holi
- In case you are walking, cover your face with a pulled down cap, scarf or dupatta. Wear protective sunglasses.
- If you are commuting by car or train, make sure that your windows are rolled up.
Precautions for Contact lens use
Contact lenses absorb colour, and can get stained. It, therefore, releases the colour slowly and prolongs the chemical damage to the eye. It, therefore, is sensible to avoid them during Holi.
- Do not use contact lenses, and choose to wear your glasses instead. If you absolutely have to wear contact lenses, make sure you wear protective zero power glasses or sunglasses along with them. In fact, try using a daily disposable pair so you can throw them off after that day.
- So in case any colour falls in your eyes, and you are wearing lenses, you must remove your contact lenses immediately.
- If your contact lenses are colour stained, you must discard them.
What if colour goes into your eyes
In case of any eye problems, like irritation, redness, pain, blurring of vision or eye swelling, you must waste no time in getting assistance from your nearest eye care professional and
- Do not panic
In case of any accident, remain calm. Make sure there is no crowd around the injured person. Avoid arguments, and fights.
- Remove contact lenses
In case you are wearing contact lenses, remove them immediately.
Rinse eyes with lots of clean, drinking water.
- Just make sure that there are no open injuries or cuts in the eyes. If there are any cuts, do not do anything. Gently cover the eye with a clean handkerchief or bandage, and get to a medical facility at the earliest.
- If there is no open injury, rinse the eyes thoroughly. Cup your palms and fill them up with clean water. In fact, you may also try and open your eyes under a stream of tap water, or even the shower.
- Blink again and again. Do not splash water into the eye, since that can aggravate the injury.
- The eye turns chalky white (instead of the angry red you expect when you get colour in the eye) in case of a severe chemical injury. In case, you think the colour used had a harsh chemical, continue flushing the eyes with clean water until you reach the emergency medical services.
Something in the eye
- Do not try to remove anything that has fallen into the eye. Most people try using the corners of a handkerchief or tissue, and only aggravate the situation.
- In case there is any associated bleeding or laceration, around the eye area, you can clean that area with an antiseptic agent like Savlon. However, you must make sure that the eyes are closed while doing so. Apply a firm compress with a clean bandage or handkerchief in order to stop the bleeding. Again, do not try to remove any foreign body without medical assistance.
Use lubricating eye drops
- If there are any lubricating eye drops available, use them liberally. This will soothe the eye, and also help wash off some of the irritants. Tear supplements, however, are not a substitute for washing the eyes.
- In fact, you may also use antibiotic drops in a pinch, if that’s all you have. Another option is to use the contact lens solution as a rinse.
- Whatever you do, make sure you carry the bottles to the emergency room. This way, your doctor will know what you’ve used before seeing her.
- CAVEAT: If you see blood coming out from the eye, or a cut in the eye, it is a good idea to do nothing, except use a clean cloth to apply a gentle compress. Seek medical help immediately.
Get to a doctor
Any colour in the eye must be seen by a doctor. First aid is not a substitute for an eye examination by an eye care professional.
- This is especially true in case of persistent redness, watering, discharge, itching or discomfort.
- In case of any decrease in vision, foreign body in the eye, laceration of the eye, or bleeding from the eye or surrounding areas, you must try to reach the doctor without any delay. Also, be wary of a chalky white eye, it can indicate severe chemical damage.
- Time is key. In case of chemicals in the eye, the longer that the colour/ chemical remains in the eye, the more is the damage. Therefore, it is not prudent to wait and see if the eye feels better over time.
Remember, Holi injuries can range from a mild irritation, corneal abrasions to vision threatening chemical burns. Often, the symptoms of redness, pain and watering will not indicate the true damage to the eye, especially in case of harsh chemicals. You must, therefore, waste no time in reaching out to your eye doctor for help.
