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Thanks to the COVID pandemic, children were locked up in their homes for the last 2 years.
Neither could they go to school, nor could they celebrate any festival with others.
Now that COVID cases in the country have been on the decline for a few weeks, it looks like they may get a chance to enjoy the festival once again after 2 years.
But, we must remember that COVID is not completely over yet.
FIT spoke with Dr Maninder Singh Dhaliwal, Associate Director of Pediatrics, Medanta Hospital, Gurgaon, to know how our children can have fun and stay safe this holi in the COVID pandemic .
"COVID infections are still low, and children have also started going to school now. In such a situation, it is natural that children will play Holi this time. In such a situation, we should take some precautions," says Dr Dhaliwal.
Dr Dhaliwal reccomends making sure that your kids keep their masks up even while playing holi. "It is better if you play dry holi. This will prevent your mask from getting wet," he adds.
First of all, make sure that the colors that children play with are government certified colors.
If the color gets into their eyes, first of all, wash them thoroughly under running water. Make sure they do not rub their eyes.
If it goes into their mouth, make them gargle thoroughly with water, until they feel like their mouth is completely clean.
According to Dr Dhaliwal, asthma can be triggered by anything. Holi colours can also cause this.
If your child has a history of having an asthma attack, or any other problem while playing holi, then he should be alert. It is adviced not to let them play holi with colours.
Holi colors can cause contact dermatitis.
Due to the chemicals present in the colors, it can cause irritation, redness and rash in the skin of children.
To avoid this, parents should massage the children 's skin and hair with coconut oil before they play with coloours.
This will create a safe layer of coconut oil between their skin and the colours, which can help prevent contact dermatitis.
After playing Holi, some people use lemon many times to remove the color from the body, which should not be done.
This can cause skin irritation. Instead, bathe the child gently every day. The color will gradually fade out in a few days.
Here's a handy checklist of Dos to make holi safer for your kids and you.
Wear a well fitted face mask
As far as possible, explain to children to avoid crowds and play Holi with a small group of freinds
Play with dry colors
Massage coconut oil onto hair and skin before playing Holi
Tie the child's hair, do not leave it open (Even better if you can cover their head with a cloth)
Dress the child in full sleeved shirts
keep their nails short
keep them hydrated through the day
Keep these Don'ts in mind too:
Do not allow the child to play Holi if he has a cold, cough and fever.
Abstain from playing with water
Keep alcohol sanitizer away from children. Accident can be caused by accidentally ingesting or spraying.
While playing Holi, children may fall and end up hurting themselves. In such a situation, if they get injured, first of all clean the wound thoroughly. If the wound is deep, contact the doctor. A Tetanus vaccine may be needed.
If the child ingests colour of it gets in their eyes, and they continue to feel irritation and burning even after rinsing thoroughly with clean water, then contact the nearest doctor immediately. Don't ignore it.
If the child is experiencing difficulty in breathing while playing Holi, then contact your doctor immediately.
If the child develops rashes or redness on their skin because of the colours, and doesn't seem to be getting better, then definitely show the doctor.
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