How water cannons used during protests could impact your health

Anti-Finance Bill 2024 protesters hide from police tanker water spray during the Finance Bill 2024 protest in Nairobi on June 25,2024[Boniface Okendo, Standard]

According to the Israel Association of Public Health Physicians, "water cannons can cause hypothermia, direct trauma from the pressurized water, secondary injury from a victim being knocked down or colliding with objects, or injuries from chemicals and dyes dissolved in the water."

"There is a high risk of injury from a direct hit to the face by a water cannon. These include serious and irreversible injuries to the eye and eye socket, including blindness," the physicians quoted in The Times of Israel.

But a medical practitioner, healthwise on the popular video app TikTok is of a different school of thought. He says: "The water can be any color...They use dye to color the water, and it is meant to stain your clothes but not necessarily affect your health."

The Malindi High Court has now barres police from using water cannons, teargas, live and rubber bullets, or other crude weapons to disperse protesters.

But, this remains to be seen as human rights organisations continue to lament and document the increased cases of police brutality.