Patna: Skin and eye injuries are most common while bursting Diwali firecrackers, city doctors have warned.

Last Diwali, a 13-year-old boy ended up with a perforated eye while setting off an anar that burst. He had to undergo surgery. Another child, 10 years old, had burnt eyelashes and eyelid playing with churchuri with his little sister.

"Burst firecrackers from around 3-4 feet distance," said Dr Sunil Kumar Singh, eye surgeon cum director of Sanjeevani Eye Hospital, who treated the two children last year. "Not keeping a good stance while bursting crackers can damage your eyes. While your other parts of the body can get burns, if splinters get inside your eyes it can even lead to blindness. Burning of eyelashes and eyelids can also happen."

He asked residents to keep a basket full of water while playing with crackers. "If a splinter gets into your eye, keep on washing your eyes with cold water till the irritation comes down. Some put ghee in eyes for burn in eyes but ghee would would absorb the moisture of the eyes. Keep artificial teardrops and plain antibiotic drop in your house. Applying this would give relief to people with eye burns," Singh said.

Dermatologist Abhishek Kumar Jha said fumes firecrackers release absorb the moisture of skin and also cause irritation and flaking problems.

"Burns from crackers can also aggravate skin-related problems of people who may have some type of skin disorder," said Jha. "Lack of parental supervision causes most of the burn-related injuries. Parents should always be with children when they are playing with crackers."