Rust ring in my eye!

[metalworker77]

I just came back from the hospital; I had to have a steel filling dug out of the center of my eye. I still have to get the rust ring burred out. I would just like to say that any protective wear that looks like any sort of designer sunglasses suck for angle grinding! The only way to go is with those cheep ones that are sealed all the way around top and bottom, they are cheaper and look dorky; but are the only ways to go. The other may be ok for forging, but not for use with the angle grinder.

Bye, the way… it was not just any old steel filling...this one had tungsten in it! For extra sharpness! lol

[Woody]

If you are going to wear safety glasses for grinding, I recommend either tight fitting goggles over them or a full face shield. I have also had a piece of steel taken out of my eye that came up under the safety glasses.

Woody

[ThomasPowers]

Using a die grinder with a carbide burr last saturday bounced a nasty curved bit of steel around my safety glasses. I was lucky that it didn't stick in the eye but rode in the mucus under the eyelid and I was able to take it out using a scary poweful disk drive magnet I keep in the medicine chest for such purposes.

Unfortunately that was about 100 miles away from where it happened.

[Fionnbharr (finn:-)]

And if you live in saftey glasses like I do... Don't let the little girl at the optomitrists talk you into small stylish glasses even if you can get polycarbonate safety lens... I also had to have a rust ring removed by an opthomologist, with the coolest micro dremel... But I didn't get stung by a grinder, I got hot scale adherd to my eye, not something I would recommend to anyone... ;-)

Protect only the parts of your body you would like to keep, and have full use of for the rest of your life...

[LarryM]

Just short warning I once had to take my daughter to Doc the remove metal sliver out of her eye. I believe she got from my clothes. Because she was never near my job at the time. It also had a rust ring.


Larry McCollum

[Ten Hammers]

Finn, I cannot for the life of me understand why the infobabes that sell you glasses at the glasses place try and discourage you from buying polycarbinate lenses. Good quality safety glasses with side shields are the thing and like Woody sez, face shield ( Jackson makes an excellent one that you can swap clear for shaded ) for ugly work. I have made more than one trip to have steel and grinding wheel dug out of my eyes and no it is not fun.

[Glenn]

Can any of the EMT's or medical professionals give us advice on how to best get from the injury to the hospital without causing more damage?

Covering the eye keeps you from rubbing the eye and causing further damage. I have heard that with an eye injury, it is best to cover both eyes so the injured eye does not "track" with the good eye. With both eyes covered there would seem to be less eye movement and less additional injury.

Again, this is only something I have heard and it seems to make sense. Are there any medical professionals out there that address the subject of what to do to keep the injury to a minimum till we can get to the hospital?

[HWooldridge]

Uncoated polycarbonate scratches easily so the infobabes may be thinking about warranty or liability. Acrylic won't scratch easily but is brittle.

Coated polycarb is what you want since the base material is practically unbreakable under impact but the coating makes it more resistant to damage.

[bruce wilcock]

full face masks in the smithy dark for cutting and clear wirebrush and grinding , we like most had to find out the practical way , still i find the real lurkers are fine brass turnings the pigs.

[ThomasPowers]

Well they keep telling me that if I would go to a smaller lens that my glasses wouldn't be so heavy---I still get them as big as I can find them and keep my old pairs to show people *why*.

Thomas---I do take them off to Shower---when I get to that part of the body...I used to be able to get "cable temples" that curved WAY around the ear so I could swim wearing them...