Male Teachers Sought In Chinese Kindergartens (Photo : Getty Images)
Eight kindergarten pupils in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province were hospitalized for red, swollen eyes because teachers allegedly forgot to shut off a large ultraviolet lamp in the classroom on Monday.
The lamp was installed to kill bacteria at the Dongyuan Kindergarten, the Qiannjiang Evening News reported. It was supposed to be turned on for less than 60 minutes in the morning so the young students’ eyes would not be damaged.
The classroom being brightly lit was the reason given for failure of the other teachers to notice the ultraviolet lamp was left open. By lunch break, the students told Xu, the headmaster, that their eyes were uncomfortable.
By afternoon, more than a dozen students were sent to the local hospital for treatment. Eight of the pupils had serious eye burns. The rest were prescribed eye ointments. The students are expected to recover from their ailment in three days, according to the mother one of the children, a physician at a local eye hospital.
According to the WebMD, ultraviolet light could cause serous flash burns to the cornea from a source of radiation like lights or sun. It could be in the form of high-intensity light from welding equipment, sunlight or tanning booths of sunlamps.
As protection from ultraviolet light, goggles or a welding mask could be used. Use of sunglasses is also recommended as well as avoiding looking at the sun for long periods of time.
