Holi Eye Care

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Holi should be fun, but synthetic colours and water balloons cause a steady stream of eye problems every year, from simple irritation to chemical burns and serious blunt injuries. A little preparation keeps the colour on your face and out of your eyes. ગુજરાતીમાં વાંચો (Read in Gujarati).

Why Holi colours can harm the eyes

Many cheap dry colours are made with industrial dyes meant for textiles, paper or leather, and tests in India have found lead and other contaminants in them. These can cause allergic conjunctivitis, scratches on the cornea (corneal abrasion) and chemical burns. Wet colours and coloured water may contain ground glass, mica or engine oil in poor-quality products, and pastes may contain lime.

Before you play

• Choose natural or herbal colours from a trusted brand, or make your own from flowers, turmeric and beetroot.
• Apply coconut oil or a thick moisturiser on the skin around the eyes and on the eyebrows (not in the eyes) so colour washes off easily.
• Wear sunglasses or swimming goggles, especially for children.
• Leave contact lenses at home and wear spectacles.
• Avoid water balloons and pichkaris aimed at the face: a balloon thrown hard can cause bleeding inside the eye or a detached retina.

If colour goes in the eye

1. Do not rub. Keep the eye closed and wipe colour off the face and lids first, so you do not wash more in.
2. Rinse with plenty of clean running water for 15–20 minutes, holding the lids open. Tilt the head so the water runs away from the other eye.
3. Remove contact lenses if worn.
4. If the eye is still red, painful, watering or blurred after rinsing, see an eye doctor the same day. Do not use steroid or "redness-relief" drops on your own.

After Holi

Wash colour out of the hair and eyebrows with the eyes closed. Some redness for a few hours is common; increasing pain, discharge or reduced vision is not, and needs a check-up.

See an eye doctor the same day if

• Vision is blurred or reduced and does not clear with blinking.
• Pain, redness or watering continues after rinsing, or the eye cannot be opened.
• There is a cut on the eye or eyelid, blood in the eye, or something stuck in it.
• A chemical, cracker powder or lime (chuna) went into the eye.
• Light hurts the eye, or you see flashes, floaters or a shadow.

Frequently asked questions

Related: Eye injury and emergency treatment, Diwali Eye Safety, Uttarayan Kite Festival Eye Safety.