Holi- Play Safe, Spread Happiness

Contributed by – Healthians Team

No wonder holi is the most awaited festival of the year! The festival of holi signifies the victory of good over evil; a time to forget all your troubles, fights and greet the festivities with open arms.

Holi is not just the festival of vibrant colours but is also a celebration of human spirit; the love that we share, togetherness and joy. We splash each others heart with the wondrous joy of love and fill it with the warmth of colourful memories. Do not let anything spoil your celebrations and health, this year take a few steps to protect yourself from the side-effects of holi.

Measures for an ailment free holi

Holi is such a beautiful festival of colours, excitement and happiness. This holi take some precautions to play safe avoid ailments. The most common ailments and ways to avoid them are:

• Infections and allergies- Keep your surroundings clean and make sure that there is no water logging to avoid breeding of mosquitoes after holi. Also avoid going to overcrowded places as it can make you more prone to infections and allergies.
• Respiratory infections- Holi colours can cause irritation, breathing problems and several infections. Wear face mask to protect yourself while playing and using public transport or going outside to protect yourself from infections, pollutants and droplet infection.
• Stomach problems – Protect yourself from diarrhoeal infections this holi. Avoid street foods and unhygienic food, drink more water and stay hydrated while playing. While playing with colours make sure to wash your hands before eating and wear gloves for serving to avoid stomach infections.
• Skin and hair allergy– Holi colours might have chemicals in them which can cause various skin problem like skin irritation, burning sensation, dryness etc. Wash your skin immediately with clean water incase of skin irritation and use lotions and aloevera gel for the soothing effect. This holi only use herbal colours or old school and make your own colours at home with natural ingredients.
• Eye irritation – Play safe and avoid putting colours in the eyes. Do not smear or rub colours on the face and eyes, wash eyes immediately if you experience burning or irritation and do not rub your eyes.
• Alcohol and bhang– Holi is a time of getting together and merriment, do not over indulge in alcohol or bhang consumption. Drink in moderation and have unlimited fun this holi.

 Protect your skin- before playing holi

• Apply coconut or olive oil, moisturizers, lotion or body oil of your choice to protect your skin. This will also help in removing the colours later on
• Make sure to only use herbal or organic colours this holi
• Avoid harsh colours like silver, black or dark purple as they contain chemicals and other harmful materials

Protect your skin – after playing holi

• Use clean water and soap to take bath and wash off the colour
• Be gentle on your skin and avoiding rubbing or using harsh soap
• Use some homemade face pack of yoghurt, gram flour and turmeric
• You can also use honey with lemon as a natural balm for your skin

Protect your hair- before playing holi

• Make sure to apply hair oil properly all over your hair and scalp
• You can also wear some head gear, cap or head scarves to protect your hair and add a quirky twist to your holi costume/outfit

Protect your hair – after playing holi

• Shampoo your hair properly with clean water 2-3 times (if required) to remove the colour from the hair
• You can also apply some natural/homemade hairpack
• Going for a hair spa the next day is also a good idea

Protect your eyes – while playing holi

• Stay a little cautious and try not to put colours in the eyes
• Do not smear or rub colours on the face, it can harm the eyes
• Wash your eyes immediately if you get a burning sensation in the eyes
• Do not rub your eyes, it will do harm than good
• You can also use refresh tear drops to bring relief to the eyes incase of burning
• Wear your sunglasses to protect your eyes from glaring
• If the irritation persists, visit an eye specialist

Protect your eyes – if you have a weak eyesight

• Incase you have weak eyesight and cannot do without your glasses, stay careful and make sure that you do not get injured while playing holi
• Using lens is not a wise idea, avoid them as using lens can injure the cornea and cause abrasion
• Incase of eye injury due to breaking of spectacles or lens, seek immediate eye specialist assistance as you might suffer from corneal injuries

Diet before holi

Holi also means unlimited tasty food, munching on delicious snacks and yummilicious dishes, you can always prepare yourself by watching your diet before holi. Few steps to ensure your stomach health this holi:

• Have low calories, low carb, and low sugar diet for 7-10 days ideally before holi
• You can make really interesting recipes using oats, explore a little and treat yourself with healthy and delicious meals
• Add fruits, green vegetables and salads in your daily diet
• Have high fibre diet as it will boost your digestive system
• Increase your water intake, carry a bottle with yourself and keep drinking water throughout the day
• Avoid street and unhygienic food

Measures to tackle disgusting and harmful substances

People can go crazy on holi and sometimes use some disgusting and harmful substances like mud, eggs etc. to play holi, it can be really harmful for your skin and cause allergy and other problems. Incase someone sprays or throws any of these harmful substances on you, follow the below steps:

• Wash yourself with clean water and change your clothes immediately
• Also try not to travel on holi, stay within your vicinity where it is safe and you can avoid such horrible encounters

Ingredients to avoid this holi

• Avoid using colours with chemicals in them, they can be really harmful for your skin and eyes
• Colours with shiny particles or dark colours have chemicals in them, they are a complete no
• Do not play with mud, dirty water, eggs etc.
• Throwing balloon filled with water can be really dangerous and cause injuries

Go herbal this holi

Organic or herbal colours are the best way to play holi. This holi say no to harsh and dark colours that have chemicals in it and add the colourful happiness with the wonderful natural colours.

• Opt for herbal holi this year, only use natural colours and make sure to check the label for ingredients used before buying them
• You can make your own colours using ingredients like turmeric and gram flour for yellow colour
• Mix beetroot and pomegranate to get the lovely pink colour
• Use mehndi to get orange colour
• These herbal or natural colours will not only add amazing colours to your festivity but will also protect your skin, hair and eyes
• Use clean water and you can also use neem water
• Boil marigold flowers with water to add the colourful goodness

Play safe and relish in the amazing festivities of holi.