Obsession with selfies sends kids to hospital

AHMEDABAD: Vishal (name changed), 11, resident of a village near Viramgam in Ahmedabad district, landed in a hospital with bleeding from his private parts. When the doctors inquired about the nature of the injury, the child admitted that he had climbed on to the hood of his father's tractor and was fiddling with phone to get himself in the frame with the farm behind. In his quest for the perfect angle, he slipped, fell and landed on the sidebar of the vehicle.
Dr Anirudh Shah, senior paediatric surgeon with a city-based private hospital, said that the patient is still recuperating from the injuries sustained. "The incident had caused urethral injury and subsequent swelling. Doctors had put a catheter as he was unable to pass urine. He had to carry the tube hanging from his stomach for a year before he was operated for the narrowing of the urethral opening - he could not even pass a drop of urine," he said.
‘Most cases involve injuries from falls or burns by hot liquids’
Dr Amar Shah, co-surgeon in the operation and exjoint secretary of Indian Association of Paediatric Surgeons, said the child suffered for over a year due to a selfie. “In the past one year, we might have carried out over 15 surgeries of varied nature on children and teens due to injuries caused by selfies,” he said. Pediatric surgeons say they are getting an average 1-2 cases of injuries caused by selfies every month. Dr Dhiren Patel, a city-based paediatric surgeon, said that in majority of the cases, the injuries are caused because of fall or burns by hot liquid.
“In past two months, we have seen about 4-5 cases of such a nature. It happens as the kids forget their surroundings while trying to get the best shot,” he said. Dr Shakil Vadaliwala, a city-based paediatrician, said that he recently saw a femur bone fracture when a six-yearold child fell from a table and landed on the chair. “We got to know that he was trying to imitate his elder siblings who were getting a photograph in front of a painting. The child lost balance and fell on the chair on his leg. It’s just about major injury – we get several cases of minor cuts or bruises that just need first aid among kids,” he said.
“The bottom line is, children often imitate their parents or relatives without thinking much. Thus, it’s also the responsibility of the adults to ensure that the children don’t pick up these habits with proper counselling.” In another instance, a toddler landed at hospital when her mother put her on a table at a high-end coffee shop and tried to take a picture with the mug in front of them. An accidental push by the child spilled the coffee on her, causing minor burns.
Dr Rakesh Joshi, medical superintendent of Civil Hospital, said that while it’s difficult to quantify the selfie-related injuries among children that get reported at the hospital, the number has surely increased in the past couple of years. “The children often don't know how to operate phones, and while fiddling with the phones, they lose balance and often fall down - resulting in cuts or blunt injuries,” he said.