10 Tips for a Healthy Holi!

Holi is the most colourful and vivacious festival of India. While the bhang and gujiyas, dancing on Holi songs, the naughtiness and drenching in colours is great fun, the aftermaths can be dangerous. Many people suffer from skin rashes and eye allergy. So play a safe and a healthy holi!

Earlier, people used to play Holi with natural colours made from herbs and flowers that have remedial value. But today, the holi colours contain many dyes and toxic substances.  These chemicals are harmful for the skin and can cause rashes, irritation, itching, dryness and abrasion.

“People who handle colours often complain of conjunctivitis, visual impairment, asthma and brutal skin reactions. Some of the colours are highly toxic and can even cause cancer,” said Dr Vikas Goswami, senior consulting oncologist at Fortis Hospital.

Tips for a Healthy Holi

Play a safe and a healthy Holi this year and keep these tips in mind:

1. Keep yourself and your children at a secure distance from the Holi bonfire on the eve of Holi.

2. If possible try to use herbal or home-made colours. You can easily prepare them by using flowers and turmeric. Better go for pink and red colours as they not only look good but can also be removed easily. Colours such as purple, yellow and green contain many harmful substances.

3. Apply oil abundantly on your hair and skin before you step out to enjoy the festival of colours. “Dry skin allows the chemicals to penetrate easily, so the oil is protective. Use coconut oil, olive oil or Vitamin E oil for the body, and mustard oil for hair. Apply it one hour before you go out to play,” said dermatologist Dr Deepali Bhardwaj.

4. Apply sunscreen to protect your skin from the damage. “Use a gel-based sunscreen as it needs to be waterproof. Anything above SPF 26 should be good,” said Dr Shehla Agarwal, director, Mehak Skin Clinic.

5. Protect your eyes from the harmful colours by wearing sunglasses. If colour enters your eyes by any chance, immediately rinse them with cold water.

Image Credits: hindustantimes.com

6. Holi colours can make your hair brittle and frizzy. Protect your hair by massaging them with oil, the night before.

7. To protect your skin from synthetic colours that contains chemicals like lead oxide, mercury sulfide, aluminium bromide and copper sulfate, cover as much of your body as you can.

8. Don’t use harsh soaps and shampoo to remove the colour. Use a mild soap for your skin and baby shampoo for your hair. Avoid using kerosene, petrol and spirits to remove the stains, as they will make your skin drier. Use lemon juice over the colour patches or apply a mixture of curd and sandalwood.

9. If you are asthamatic or allergic to dust and pollen, don’t play outdoors with dry colours.

10. Consume bhang in moderate quantities as it can increase blood pressure and heart rate.

Wishing you a very colourful, safe and Healthy Holi!