DOH urges parents to keep kids away from firecrackers

CEBU, Philippines - With Christmas just around the corner, the Department of Health is once again urging parents to keep any type of firecracker away from children, as health secretary Francisco Duque recommends for firecrackers to be banned from residential areas.

In a statement, health secretary Francisco Duque said that with children often mistake firecrackers for toys, thus, placing themselves in a very dangerous situation.

Duque also recommended that local authorities designate an area where fireworks could be lighted, displayed and handled only by adults.

DOH recorded the piccolo, kwitis, 5-star, luces, and even home-made or altered firecrackers as the types that caused the most injuries among children in 2008.

Duque explained that the public should always be cautious and not regard legally distributed fireworks as safe because even legally distributed fireworks like kwitis and luces cause serious and severe injuries like blast burn, which may lead to amputation.

Based on the Fireworks Injury Surveillance Report of the DOH National Epidemiology Center, the number of injuries among children and adults reported last year recorded an all-time low compared to the number of cases reported in the four previous years.

A total of 733 injuries were reported from December 21, 2008 to January 5, 2009, which was lower by 280 cases or 28 percent than the previous four-year average and lower by 136 cases or 16 percent than the 2007 report.

Meanwhile, to further improve coordination among agencies and health facilities involved in injury prevention, DOH is introducing the Online National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, an internet-based system that allows health facilities to report fireworks injury cases. – Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/JMO   (FREEMAN NEWS)