As far as December festivities go, they are already 503 people have been injured in Colombia by gunpowder. Of this total, 105 cases have been registered during the Christmas weekend, according to data from the health authorities in the country.
Of that number, 322 were of legal age and 181 are children and adolescents under 18 years of age. Of the latter, more than 15 were in the company of an adult under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident.
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Most of the wounded suffered burns and lacerations (90.9%), but there are also cases of amputation and eye damage. And the types of devices that have caused the most injuries have been totes, flyers, volcanoes, rockets and flares.
As for areas of the country, antioch It is where more cases of injuries have been presented. they follow him Bogota, Cauca, Y Narino.
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For now, the days with the most gunpowder injuries have been on December 7 and 8, in full celebration of candles and with 91 and 93 cases, respectively.
Compared to 2021, the cases have dropped by 85, since a year ago the injured at this time were 588. During December 24 and 25 of last year, in addition, the injured were 182.
gunpowder injuries
Gunpowder wounds are classified according to their size and severity: they range from superficial burns until limb amputation and third degree burns.
“Third-degree burns can compromise the lives of patients, generating long stays in health institutions nationwide, high care costs, high demand for resources, and high rates of physical disability or even mortality in the short and medium term.“, explained Raphael Castellanos, emergency physician at the San Ignacio University Hospital in Bogotá.
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As for the Recovery time that the wounded should follow, this is variable, according to Castellanos, and “is seriously linked to their severity, and in the worst scenarios it may take years to recover partial or total functionality from injuries caused by this type of device“.
Finally, the expert explained that gunpowder wounds, beyond physical damage, also have mental repercussions, such as stress, trauma, depression and high risk of self-harm.
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PORTFOLIO AND TIME
