DOH logs 5 more fireworks-related injury, total now at 25

Five additional cases of fireworks-related injuries were recorded in the country which brought the total number to 25, the Department of Health (DOH) said Tuesday.

In a press conference, DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said the caseload of firecracker-related injuries so far was 14% higher than the 22 cases reported during the same period in 2021.

Based on the agency’s fireworks-related injury surveillance report, five of these cases came from Western Visayas.

Three each came from the Bicol Region, Central Visayas, and Soccsksargen.

There were two cases recorded each in the Ilocos Region, Mimaropa, Davao Region, and the National Capital Region (NCR).

Meanwhile, one case each was logged in the Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).

Thirteen of these cases sustained injuries on the eye, eight on the hand, three on the forearm or arm, while one on the back.

The top fireworks involved were boga, whistle bomb, kwitis, and 5-star.

Boga, an improvised and illegal firework, caused eight or 32% of the injuries alone.

The DOH said there were still no reports of firework ingestions, and stray bullet injuries so far.

“Kapag tayo ay naputukan o kaya tayo ay nagkaron ng injuries dahil sa paputok, ang unang-una nating titignan ano 'yung extent nung injury. Kapag nakuha natin na sobrang dami na ng dugo o kaya meron nang pagka-sever nung isa sa ating daliri o kamay, balutin lang sa malinis na cloth ang injury at pumunta na kaagad sa ospital,” Vergeire reminded the public.

(When we get injuries due to fireworks, the first thing we look at is the extent of the injury. When we see that there is too much blood or that one of our fingers or hands is severed, just wrap the injury in a clean cloth and go to the hospital immediately.)

If the injuries are only mild or small, she said that they should be cleaned with soap and water, and be observed.

Vergeire also advised victims to get tetanus vaccine if they sustained injuries due to firecrackers.—AOL, GMA Integrated News