The IMO recommends taking special safety precautions with fireworks during the San Juan Festival

In collaboration with the Catalonian Association of Firework Wholesalers and Manufacturers, 18,000 leaflets will be handed out at major firework outlets in Barcelona

Fireworks can be particularly dangerous to the eyes, if not used properly and carefully, according to the Accident and Emergency department of the Instituto de Microcirugía Ocular in Barcelona (IMO). The sensitivity of the eye area and its possible exposure to explosive material during Spain’s San Juan festival – especially when approaching a firework to examine the fuse or checking why it has not gone off – make it necessary to take special safety precautions. Using protective glasses is an effective method, even if the person lighting the firework does not require optical correction. If you are not handling fireworks directly, it is best to stand as far away as possible from the fireworks.

What to do in the event of an accident

If you suffer an injury to your face, which affects your eyes, you should apply pressure to the affected area to stop any bleeding, but avoid compressing the eyeball. If the injury only affects the eye, you should wash the area with a clean gauze or cloth soaked in water to remove any remaining particles that could continue damaging the eye, but avoid compressing the eyeball too much. The injured person should be immediately taken to hospital for an examination of the eye’s internal structures. The pain caused is often disproportionate to the severity of the injury, with small wounds causing the greatest discomfort and major injuries being painless. The eye injury can be multiple and varied and can affect one or both eyes. Injuries can range from small burns on the eyelids and abrasions on the surface of the eye to severe tissue damage and bursting of the eyeball with subsequent loss of its contents. Although eye injuries caused by fireworks can now be treated highly successfully, serious after-effects can remain in some cases.

Information at firework outlets

All of this advice is contained in the 18,000 information leaflets that IMO, in collaboration with the Catalonian Association of Firework Wholesalers and Manufacturers, has distributed to the main firework outlets in Barcelona.

You may be interested in