A surgeon in Cork has warned people of the dangers of Halloween fireworks, after encountering child patients who have lost parts of their genitals. 

While fireworks remain illegal in Ireland, many are routinely smuggled south from Northern Ireland, where they are legal to buy and sell. 

Speaking to Moncrieff, consultant reconstructive surgeon Anne McKenna said people need to be more aware of the dangers of fireworks and bonfires at this time of year. 

“People tend to build bonfires with whatever's hanging around, rubbish, stuff from garden sheds, broken down pallets,” she said. 

“So, children can fall through them, they can fall off them. So they tend to sustain injuries in the construction of the bonfires.

“Then sadly, we see burn injuries which occur either when the bonfires are being lit, caused by aerosols or solvents or paint or petrol, which are in the fire, which can suddenly ignite and explode.” 

Dr McKenna added that she has seen some awful injuries from aerosol cans as well, which teenagers use to create flame displays. 

“If it's a pressurised can, then that can suddenly shoot out like a rocket,” she said. 

“And that can cause a direct blow to a head or any other part of the body or it can cause a burn injury. 

“We've seen some really terrible, devastating burns in that case.” 

However, Dr McKenna is especially concerned about fireworks, having seen child patients with “devastating” injuries over the years. 

“We have had children losing bits of limbs and bits of genitals, so they're really devastating, which is why they were made illegal in Ireland,” she said. 

“If you are going to enjoy a firework display, you should go to a staged one.”

Main image: Fireworks. Picture by: Jim Zuckerman / Alamy Stock Photo