Holi 2022: How to Protect Your Eyes from Colors? Know From the Expert

Holi 2022: The festival of colors is almost here. The festival of colors brings a lot of togetherness, enjoyment, fun, food, and laughter with it. This is the time of year when people return from faraway cities to celebrate with their family, friends, and near and dear ones, and when they indulge in lip-smacking food and drinks.  

This year, Holi will be celebrated on March 18. Holika Dahan, which is celebrated a day before Holi, has a lot of mythological connections and significance. On this day, Lord Vishnu is said to have rescued his devotee Prahlad from the clutches of Prahlad's father - the demon king Hiranyakashipu and his sister Holika – and defeated the evil. Hence, Holi denotes the triumph of good over evil. 

Holi is celebrated with a lot of grandeur and pomp all throughout the country.  This is the season when individuals like playing with colors. Kids bring out their water pistols, water balloons, and gulal and play with each other by smearing their faces.  However, Holi is also a period when harmful colors have the potential of getting into your eyes and skin and lead to illnesses. Even though we are constantly encouraged to play Holi safely, we may be exposed to hazardous chemicals utilized in the making of these colors.

So how do we strike the right balance between having fun and also keeping ourselves safe? 

Rishi Bhardwaj, HOD, Opthalmology, Paras Hospitals, Gurugram, talks about how to protect your eyes from colors and prevent allergies and other complications. 

To protect your eyes from colors, wear protective eyeglasses, zero power glasses, or sunglasses. A protective barrier would prevent the colors from entering the eyes and causing any damage. 

Go for natural colors: The best thing about playing with natural colors is that they would not harm your body and especially the eyes. Traditional natural colors made from flowers and turmeric are the best choices. 

"Also, majority of the colors being sold in the market may contain hazardous chemicals such as asbestos, mercury, silica, mica and lead. These are very toxic to the skin and eyes and can lead to symptoms such as irritation, redness, and allergies," says the expert. 

Do not wear contact lenses: Rishi Bhardwaj has strongly advised not to wear contact lenses while playing Holi. When colors get inside the eye, it has more tendency of depositing in the contact lenses. 

Do not rub your eyes: According to the expert, rubbing your eyes with colors in your hand might cause corneal abrasion.