We hope soon to be able to present on this homepage individual persons who can tell what kind of harm they have been suffering from fireworks.
Susanne von Dach, August 2002:
As to me, I am affected by asthma and in addition I am suffering of multiple chemical sensitivity. For years I have been suffering more and more from fireworks, i.e. eye troubles, respiratory difficulties up to severest asthmatic attacks; nausea; headaches, dizzinesm; painful conditions of body nerves, circulation problems, disorder of the heart and ear aches.
It takes about 3 – 4 weeks for my lungs to reach the same
condition as before the fireworks.
To
me personally – as to many people the world over – days like August 1 and New Year's
Eve for a long time now have been no reason for enjoyment
Michaela Penk, January 2003:
I
spent last New Year's Eve in the Austrian valley of Gastein. Around midnight
we went to the center of Bad Hofgastein where we met with a thick fog. It has
never been so awful with rockets and crackers like that year's end. Due to the
fog the air was loaden with the smell of sulphur and various other chemicals.
After nearly an hour we hastily fled the scene.
Two
years ago I stopped smoking and for this reason I now have strong reactions
towards bad smells. Moreover, I was asthmatic as a child. Early the morning of
New Year I woke up feeling extremely nauseated. I felt sick and suffered from
severe pains in stomach and intestines and from diarrhoea and this for the
following 4 days.
Monika Ebel, February 2003:
From
fireworks I get headache and pain of the joints for 2 – 3 days long.
Urs Schärz, February 2003:
I
am severe allergic to chemicals with all the accordingly results. I live in an
area, where in direct proximity many humans meet for celebrating August 1st.
In the last two years this day developed to a disaster. By special weather
conditions extreme steams and sulfur smells of the fireworks did not go away for
at least two days. For all this time I had to keep my windows closed for not
getting sicker. Despite all caution I had the following complaints: extreme
headache, watering eyes, dripping nose and vehemente breath problems. Few days
after August 1st I had still swindle accumulations, inflamed mucous
membranes, not to talk about the increased strong ear noises (Tinnitus) because
of the loud bangs of the fireworks.
Peter Arni, February 2003:
Fireworks?
That gives me terrible headache.
M. F.*, March 2003:
From
fireworks I get acute breath problems, digesting
disturbances, muscular pains at the whole body, severe headache and my skin is
turning red and burns.
R. K.*, March 2003:
Already
traces of the aggressive fireworks smoke release breath complaints, swindles,
pain all over my body, nausea, ear whistles, trembling, heart lawns and mucous
membrane inflammation.
Frieda Sulzer, April 2003:
Swindle
accumulations, beating of the heart, vomiting, stinging and burning of mouth,
eyes, nose and ears.
H.
H.*, August 2003
Fireworks?
I get breath complaints, my mucous membranes get loaded (sometimes I can't
even speak anymore), eye burning, pressure in the head and swindle.
Susanne
Stauffer-Meyer, September 2003
I
got nausea and failure, pain all over my body, eye pain and breath and heart
complaints by that chemical-mix in the fireworks.
Theresa Christen, April 2004:
Fireworks? I get breath complaints, dizzinesm, nausea, heart lawns, burning and watering eyes.
Franziska Brunner, May 2004:
Fireworks?
I get eye troubles, headaches and breath complaints.
Silvia Engel, May 2004:
I get really bad breath problems, heart lawns, watering eyes, headaches and nausea by the chemicals of the fireworks smoke.
Ruth Kaufmann, May 2004:
The chemicals of the fireworks smoke are very aggressive to my mucous membranes: burning mouth, tongue and palate... normally it takes 1 - 2 days till the burning is disappeared. Additionally I get headache, fever and diarrhoea.
Arlette Béguelin, May 2004:
Fireworks? I get dizzinesm and nausea and problems with the skin.
Sonja Irmgard Lautenschlager, June 2004:
The chemicals of the fireworks smoke gives me cough, breath problems, eye irritations and headache.
Marianne Airut, June 2004:
I try to stay away from fireworks as good as possible because it gives me difficulty in breathing and headache.
Edith Bolliger, June 2004:
Fireworks? I get difficulty in breathing and headache. On 1st August I try to escape to a place without fireworks.
Ilse Tanner, June 2004:
Fireworks? I get eye irritations, nausea, pain at the whole body, the respiratory system is most badly concerned. Whenever possible, on 1st August I try to escape abroad.
Jacqueline Perret, July 2004:
Fireworks? My eyes are burning, I have difficulty in breathing, headache and nausea.
Gerda Gerschwiler, September 2008:
The
night before (Swiss) National Day 1999, my friend and I visited the quays of
Arbon on the lake of Konstanz. Because of harbour festivities there was much
activity going on. Lots of people were incited to attend, and spectators were
also on their way to the movies. The weather being still warm, numerous children
also were playing on the shore of the lake and on the playgrounds. We sat down
on a bench and had the lake of Konstanz in front and the playgrounds behind us.
Behind us was also a child playing, accompanied by an elderly man - probably his
grandfather as we later found out -. I had taken notice of them only briefly
with the angle of my eye and had assumed they were playing Frisbees or some ball
games. We were happily enjoying our ice-cream until suddenly I experienced a
heavy blow at the rear of my neck accompanied by a warm and not uncomfortable
sensation and also heard a loud bang. My friend had seen an object touch my head
- he also thought it was a ball. He immediately jumped up in order to get hold
of the culprit while I – shocked - was looking down my ruffled blouse. It was
only after five minutes that my friend noticed the bleeding at the rear of my
head. A first-aid-Samaritan offered his assistance, but my friend Markus
fortunately insisted on going to the hospital in order to be attended by a
doctor. His ears were aching, and in the meantime he knew that the object
hitting my head was an explosive which had been thrown by the six-year old boy*.
We immediately drove to the Kantonsspital (hospital) in St. Gallen where the
following was diagnosed:
.
My companion was affected with traumatic ear aches which could be treated with
medicaments.
.
As to me, I had experienced traumatic ear aches also, a heavy hearing impairment,
a whole in my ear drum and a number of skin burns on my neck, at the rear of my
head and upper arm. As a case of tinnitus was suspected, I was treated during a
week with blood-diluting infusions.
The
medial attendance at the Kantonsspital (hospital) in St. Gallen was perfect. I
felt well taken care of and attended the entire time. Nevertheless, nine years
later I still suffer from the impact of this misfortune:
.
The scars of the burns are very much visible. Unfortunately, cosmetics cannot
improve on them. Fortunately, during winter time they can be covered up.
.
An irreversible impairment of my hearing resulted in the fact that I am not able
to hear certain sounds.
.
I have become very sensitive to noise and highly fearful. People in my
environment have difficulties in understanding my behaviour because the
misfortune dates back such a long time.
.
I encounter little understanding; my impairments were minimized.
.
In situations of great stress i.e. in large crowds or during stressful periods
in my work place where lots of requirements have to be dealt with at the same
time, the reaction of my body is felt in my ears, in fact with tinnitus attacks,
which are very severe. Fortunately, I am able to handle these attacks.
*Note:
The little boy mentioned above is from Sicily and came to Arbon to visit his
grandfather. Although we had knowledge of the address of the person in charge,
we have never been presented with an apology or with compensation in my regard
nor by my insurance company.
*
In the
beginning I would not place a statement from somebody only under the initial
letters of his/her name on this page. After hearing some stories about how
neighbours behave against the one, who are getting serious ill from the
chemical-mix of fireworks, I changed my opinion. Some people try to hurt others, instead of giving consideration to the bad state of health
of other ones,
I would
like to add that I know those with the initial letters of their name personally
and I therefore know that their statements are correct.