It’s Holi round the corner and one can already see a lot of colors floating in the air. It’s the time of festivities, joy, and togetherness but apart from adding colors to the festival, Holi gulal also carries with it the chemicals that it possesses. These chemicals in gulal powder can actually blur the entire flavour of the festival if the Holi colors enter our sensitive eyes. Eyes being one of the most susceptible parts of our body can severely get affected due to the chemicals present in artificial gulal powder. For instance, the artificial green gulal used in Holi is derived from copper sulphate. If this chemical makes entry into your beautiful eyes, it can cause eye allergy, temporary blindness and conjunctivitis (pink eye). Let’s discuss about these eye allergies in detail.
Temporary Blindness
Playing Holi with synthetic green gulal powder can cause temporary blindness if the colour enters your eyes. Temporary blindness or fleeting blindness is a sudden loss of vision or blurred vision for some time. A gray patch comes before the retina thereby blocking the sight. Temporary blindness due to gulal powder can last for a few minutes, few hours or can be even prolonged to a lifetime. It is a serious medical condition and should not be ignored or there should be no delay in the treatment as it can lead to permanent loss of sight. Apart from Holi gulal, sprays or mace can cause temporary blindness. The quick way to get rid of this condition is to wash off your eyes with cold water. Washing it quickly will protect you against losing sight.
Eye Allergy
There is a typical kind of eye allergy that one experiences after playing Holi. It’s nothing but the after effects of playing Holi with chemical based colors. Eye allergy symptoms include redness of the eye, itching, tearing, burning, stinging, and watery discharge. Eyelids experience burning sensation and one might feel blurred vision too. The effect of Holi gulal lingers even after you are done with playing Holi. The longer it remains in the eye, greater will be the damage to the eyes. Once the color enters your eyes, you can quickly wash it off with cold water. This will get the chemical particles out of your eyes and your eyes can be saved.
Chemicals in Holi Gulal
Unfortunately, most of the synthetic Holi gulal contain harmful chemicals these days. These chemicals include heavy metals, acids, alkalis and powdered glass. Black Holi color contains lead oxide, green gulal contains copper sulphate, while red Holi color contains mercury sulphite. All these chemicals are highly toxic for human health and can cause skin allergies, eye irritation, cancer, temporary blindness and much more. Many synthetic Holi gulal are made with a base of asbestos talc, chalk powder or silica. Asbestos is a type of human carcinogen which gets accumulated in the body tissue and can cause cancer. The water colors used in Holi are made with an alkaline base that can cause severe injuries. If these Holi colors enter the eyes, it can lead to loss of vision. Many water colours have an alkaline base capable of causing severe injuries. If it enters the eyes, it can pose a great danger to the vision.
A Natural Solution
The best way to avoid these synthetic Holi colors is to go for natural Holi gulal that are made out of naturally extracted ingredients like flowers, herbs, leaves, and so on. These natural and organic colors do not pose any threat to human health and are eco-friendly too. These natural Holi colors will never fade away the charm of the festival and will keep you protected against all sort of health dangers. You can easily find natural Holi gulal at various online stores and if you have enough time, you can even prepare these colors at home and enjoy the festival with no worries at all.
So HAPPY HOLI to all and keep the safety at the priority.
