According to San Luis Potosí based Plastic Surgeon Dr. José Andres Azcárate Varela, accidents with fireworks bring shockwave and burning powder, a double damage that can change the victims’ lives.
(WARNING: EXPLICIT IMAGES)
“The shockwave of a firecracker’s explosion can cause severe damage to the hand, and then comes the powder burn, resulting in a double harm which leaves lifetime marks crippling children as well as adults who decided to have a moment of fun playing with fireworks”, said Dr. José Andres Azcárate Varela, in exclusive interview with The Yucatan Times.
Azcárate Varela is an experienced Mexican plastic surgeon who has treated a large number of firecracker accident victims throughout his career.
He thinks it’s a very high price which they will pay for a lifetime for an absurd and silly momentary lapse of “fun”, and there is also the pollution issue, harming the air quality, having serious effect on dogs’ sensitive hearing, the airborne particles they leave behind, and just take a look at the pictures and the video to see how dangerous this “game” could be.
According to Dr. Azcárate, (information not confirmed by the Ministry of Health), the number of victims of this type of accidents increases year after year, at least according to his personal experience.
It is worth mentioning that these type of accidents not only harm the victim’s personal economy, but they also bring severe negative social repercussions for the victim’s family.
“It is evident that there is no regulation or application of existing laws regarding these dangerous explosive artifacts” declared Azcárate Varela.
“People who manufacture these homemade artifacts lack ethics and even when they are aware of its high dangerousness, they still sell them on the streets to anybody who is willing to pay the price, even children”, Dr. Azcárate continued.
During this Christmas and New Year’s holiday period, Dr. Azcárate treated cases of people fluctuating between 16 and 35 years of age, most of them with serious burns and injuries, and many of them intoxicated by alcohol.
(Photographs courtesy of Dr. José Andrés Azcárate Varela personal archive)
Interview by Alejandro Azcárate for the Yucatan Times
Disclaimer: The opinions submitted hereby are those of the interviewee and not necessarily those of the Yucatan Times.
