Metal in your eyes!

[elkriverfab]

OK guys and gals, am I the only one!

My eyes seem to be a magnet for metal shavings.
Even though I wear eye protection when working and grinding, after I take all my gear off I seem to get that one sliver of metal in my eye.

Last year it happened twice, the year before, twice and today??????? Yes!

The eye doctor loves when I come in, he gets to dig away.

Today I got a cut cornea while driving to the hardware store.

Does anyone have a way to keep this from happening even after dusting off, blowing my face and hair with compressed air ( low of coarse).

Now listen, I am not simple minded, I don't just let this stuff fall in my eyes and I have even got these things after showering.

Now I am sporting a contact lens with gel antibiotic underneath (nice), very blurry!

By the way, this time the doctor told me I would get my money's worth and he gave me some eye drops that made me pull over and relax for about (4) hours on a dirt road.

He said " This really is not part of the eye problem, just a little something for you"

Thought it was great until it kicked in and made me forget about my problems for some time. He even called me tonight to make sure I got home!
Now what a guy, one eye dilated and the other in wonder land.

Any help on this would be wonderful, He said my eyes can only take so many scars.

If I have magnetic eyes, I cold do better working for the carnival or being a spokes person for safety glasses.

Maybe I'm on to something but I hate carnies, they give me the creeps!

[elkriverfab]

*******Update*******

My wife confirmed it, I am a carnie!

[Bigrhamr]

I've got the same problem. It's been a while since the last time (knock on wood) but a few years ago I was at the eye doc getting holes dug in my eyeball twice in a month. It's never from a projectile, I always wear at least saftey glasses and often a sheild too. I think it's the stuff that gets stuck to your eylashes and in the dried sweat on your face and later finds it's way into the eye. The only thing that seems to help me is instead of trying to dust off I'll close my eyes and stick my face under the faucet.

[jimcolt]

I freaked my wife out one day a few years ago.....she came out to the shop on a sunny morning and when I looked up at her the sun reflected off a fleck of very shiny aluminum that had stuck to my eye....she said it was so bright it looked like I had an LED inside my eye pointing at her! I didn't even realize it was there.....another trip to the ER to get it removed.

I get wood in my eyes more often than metal for some reason...

Jim

[Scratch]

I just keep my eyes closed all the time. I never get anything in them.... but I fall down alot.

[richardlw]

i use a magnet to remove steel before it gets imbeded

[BrianMick]

We also carry a surgical magnet in our first aid kit.....comes in handy
Brian

[stdave66]

going through old posts and saw this...I had metal 4 times in 1 1/2 years...always wear safety glasses but was still getting stuff under them. One thing I realized was when using my grinder, the air coming off of it from motor cooling fins was blowing toward my face, helping launch metal under the glasses---so try to avoid that obviously.
I also use a goggle type safety glass now--just like safety glasses but have a foam seal to your face. got mine from labsafety.com
good luck!

[isthmus]

Small hands? Maybe wear swim goggles under your safety wear. I have seen some guys at work with these glasses called glacier glasses that form a seal around your eyes and they are comfortable. You can order them with clear lenses.

[elkriverfab]

stdave66,

I hear ya!

It's no fun at all.

I think that's How I have gotten mine (grinder).

But mine always gets me later in the day when I am no longer in the shop, seems to fall in my eyes from my hair or eye brows.

I have even gotten a sliver in my eyes while showering!!!!

I started wearing those cheap biker style dew rag things I found at walmart.
Makes me look like I work at Orange County Choppers

They do work and I also wear the goggle style eye protection too.

When I am done using the grinder I take the biker dew rag off and shake it out real good and put it back on.

I will say it has helped a lot.

[Steelartist]

Same problem. Happened last week. I know this incident happened when I took my safety glasses off. It fell off my eyelash. My wife said I should shave everything off. Geez. I'm losing my hair now. What next. Nuff said.

[Possumplasma]

Dang.....I haven't suffered anything since the early 70's (He says, gripping the wooden desk with both hands)
Used to get a lot of red hot slag when I was stick welding back then.....still have a couple of floaters in my vision, just to remind me to always wear a safety shield.
Pity I didn't think more about hearing protection back then either....of course, the 747 taking off in my head 24/7 reminds me of that too.

Mick.

[Eagle Mtn Metal Works]

Hey Shawn
I had that happen to me last year, and I just took a speaker magnet and ran it over my eye area to get it out. It really works You can just run it over your face and hear to pick up all the metal flacks.

[rock4xfab]

Hey Shawn
I had that happen to me last year, and I just took a speaker magnet and ran it over my eye area to get it out. It really works You can just run it over your face and hear to pick up all the metal flacks.

while this can be a quick easy man fix... If you feel it in your eye it is already an issue and using a magnet could cause big problems. I scratched my eye really bad pulling the he man fix..I got lucky and the healing went pretty quick, as most eye issues the eye heals fast.. Just be careful..
I am a machinist/welder by trade...And have spent my share of times in the emergency room or the eye doctor. I always have glasses on in the shop and find like most of you have had the issues hrs after the fact.

[rkgraphics]

I typically wear a ball cap and a welder's mask to keep debris to a minimum while I'm grinding. Also, I usually do my grinding close to the floor and facing away from me so its normally not so bad.

[Wesley Nichols]

.......what a coincidence....... I left for town at 8:00AM this morning to get a chunk of metal out of my eye..... The second time in about a month.... It was way in there an the doctor hummed and dug around while I sat there an sweated an grit my teeth an tried to think about some white sand beach somewhere in the virgin islands.... He finally finished up and told me to come back on Monday.... I paid my $120 an went for a coffee........

[elkriverfab]

Yea it's not fun.

At least your doctor didn't give you the mystery eye drops that make you fall asleep on the side of the road on your way home

I now wonder if he was even a doctor, he wore a fanny pack and only took cash that day (said he was from out of town and covering for another doctor).

To all those who read this post "Wear eye protection" because it will happen.

My dad has welded for many years and of coarse used a grinder many times and never used eye protection.
He has been lucky but luck runs out fast as when it does run out.

He laughed at me for wearing those funny looking goggles one day.
After I told him about the amount of pain that can come from hoping that little sliver will find it's way out on it's own
(10 days), he now wears goggles.

On the tenth day of my first sliver the pain was bad and I could not see out of that eye when I woke up.
Got in my truck and drove into town.

I have even had a sliver come off a 3 point tractor shredder one day while removing the cutting blade.
The sliver came from the large nut that holds the blade on. fell right in my eye.
No welding, no grinding just using a wrench.

I got one for you.......

I used to weld a lot without gloves. Years to tell you the truth.
Until that one night I was welding all night and was getting real tired.

Sure the splatter gets you a little, not bad and you keep going.

But as soon as I grabbed the red hot piece of glowing 1/4 inch plate I was just welding on, no more of that.
It took several weeks for that one to heal. Gave me plenty of time to think about it.

That's what you get for being tired and not thinking.
You do this for any length of time and you will learn.

Also had a friend that always welded with what he thought was a cool skull ring on his finger until he lost position with his welding rod and it stuck to that ring(no gloves).

Trust me, you cant get it off fast enough.

After seeing that, I don't wear any jewelry any time, working or not. Including wedding ring.

Oh well.....We live and learn.

Hope that eye gets better.