Diwali - a festival eagerly waited by all Indians. It is a festival celebrated with cheerfulness and enthusiasm throughout the country. Besides prayers, delicious food and parties, playing with firecrackers is also an essential component of this festival.This festival of lights is incomplete with out the fireworks. But the stories following the fireworks during this festive season may not be good all the time. There is always someone who looses eye sight due to these fire works there is always someone suffering from burn injuries...and there is always someone facing property damages due to improper use of the firecrackers. So this year, celebrate Diwali safely, and for your safety here are some simple tips

• Alwayspurchase those items that are legally manufactured and are clearly labeledwith the name of the item, the manufacturer's name and the instructionsfor proper use
• Leave themaking of fireworks to the experts only and never attempt to play homemadefire crackers as mixing and loading chemical powders is verydangerous and can kill or seriously injure you
• The use offireworks by children should always be supervised by an adult
• Crackers are to be lit in open places (outdoors)only. Always ensure that the area is checked before igniting fireworks to makecertain that all inflammable and combustible materials are removed. Neverignite an aerial firework near an opening to a building and never usefireworks inside a vehicle
• Firecrackers should never be ignited in any containerand they should be never thrown at other people
• Open flames from matches and lighters may causeadditional fire hazards. Therefore, use a candle or an agarbathi to ignitefireworks as they burn without an open flame, and provide a greater andsafer distance between your hands and the fireworks
• Light onlyone firework at a time. Do not light any firecrackers in your own handAlways maintain a safe distance from the fire crackers. Avoid bending overthem
• Lighted sparklers are to be held away from the body
• Flying fireworks like rockets, missiles, etc. shouldalways be lighted in open grounds pointing straight up. Never ignite suchaerial fireworks where there is overhead obstruction like trees, wires,etc. as they may interfere with their path into the open air space
• Never re-light a firework which has not burntproperly. Discard the used fireworks in a bucket of water
• Do notallow children to keep fireworks in their pockets. Fireworks are to bestored away from fire or any other heat source or light fireworks insidethe house. Hence, they should be stored safely somewhere cool and dry, outof reach of children
• Wear close-fitting garments of thick material insteadof loose or flowing garments
• Always keep a fire extinguisher or bucket of waternearby to extinguish any budding fire. Also keep burn ointments handy
• Wearing protective goggles while lighting fireworkswill prevent eye injuries
• In caseany one suffer burn injuries from crackers then hold the part affectedunder cold running water and take the patient to the hospital immediately
• Consult an opthalmologist immediately in case of anyeye injuries
• Trylighting noiseless crackers as they are just as enjoyable and a delight tothe eyes as the other firecrackers. The blasting sounds produced by thefirecrackers can harm the ears and may cause deafness
• Try toenjoy the firework displays within the timelines designed by the law asthese fireworks also add to air and noise pollution

These are few simple tips to be kept in mind which will save you from accidents and mishaps, and enable you to rejoice this festival of lights! We, at Healthizen.com, wish all our readers 'A Happy, Healthy and Safe Diwali!'