Baby who dipped hand in hot water may lose finger
Last week, six-month-old Shreya Kalu burnt a finger after dipping her right hand in hot water. She had to undergo plastic surgery to reduce the swelling on her finger. Despite the efforts, doctors fear Shreya may lose her finger, Priyanka Vora reports.
In Sion hospital’s pediatric ward, six-month-old Shreya Kalu is recovering from a recent surgery.
Last week, the toddler burnt a finger after dipping her right hand in hot water. She had to undergo plastic surgery to reduce the swelling on her finger. Despite the efforts, doctors fear Shreya may lose her finger.
“She was not brought in immediately, but a few days after she suffered burns. The family tried self medication and applied some herbal paste, which resulted in secondary infections such as boils, worsening her condition,” said the doctor who examined Shreya. He called it a clear case of parental neglect.
At the pediatric ward of Sion hospital, Shreya’s isn’t the only case of parental neglect.
Boiling milk spilled on Imam Banu, a two-year-old from Bhandup, burning her right hand.
Nisha Patel, 6, has been hospitalised for more than a month now. On August 8, at her Mankhurd home, Nisha reportedly set herself on fire.
“I was at work when it happened. The neighbours rescued her,” said her mother Usha, who sells vegetables.
“We had referred Nish’s case to the psychiatric doctors who have ruled out any suicidal tendency in the child,” said Dr Meena kumar, head of surgery department of the hospital.
“Most parents fail to understand that such preventable accidents could lead to a life-long deformity in children. Education of the mother is required to avoid such accidents. Too many people living in the same house and smaller homes in urban areas are major factors for such accidents,” she said.