7-year-old boy loses two fingers to firecracker blast

A 7-year-old boy from General Trias, Cavite needed to have his ring and pinkie fingers amputated after suffering an injury from a firecracker blast ahead of New Year’s Eve, the Department of Health (DOH) reported on Thursday.

“He was an active user injured by an unknown firework from December 24 at around 9:30 a.m. and sought consult at the UP-PGH [University of the Philippines-General Hospital] at 1:15 p.m. the same day,” the department said in a statement. They added that the boy, who remains in the hospital, “was diagnosed with mangled left hand secondary to blast injury. His left ring and small fingers were amputated.”

Read: Health ministry reports injuries caused by firecrackers during holidays total 236

DOH also reported that 19 firecracker-related injuries have been recorded between Dec. 21 and Dec. 26. Of the 19 victims, the youngest was 4 years old, and the oldest was 60. The department added that 11 people sustained blast and burn injuries that didn’t require amputation, seven suffered eye injuries, and only one case — that of the 7-year-old boy — required amputation.

The regions with the most cases were the National Capital region with four fireworks-related injuries, and the Calabarzon and Ilocos regions, with three people injured each.

Among the fireworks that caused the injuries were bogas (PVC noise cannons), baby rocket, kwitis (skyrockets), mini bombs, piccolos, whistle bombs, and an “unknown firecracker,” the DOH said.

The Health Department added in its report that this year’s tally of injuries so far is still 37 percent lower compared to the same period in 2018, and that no cases of fireworks ingestion (usually by unattended children) or injuries from stray bullets resulting from celebratory gunfire have been reported so far.



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