The cost of a piece of metal in your eye.

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Didnt hit me in the eye this time.. But i was using the so called" wheel of death" aka( wire wheel) with a grinder to remove the undercoating on a frame.. The grinder caught a bolt in the frame kicked back at me like a pissed of bull, and shot at my chest/neck area( i was wearing coveralls and a leather chest apron type thing) well i didnt get injured there, but as we all know a wheel rolls.. It continued to kick and caught my wrist.. It hit me so hard i dropped the grinder which kicked rocks up and then stopped.. It hurted like all hell, i wanted to cry like a schoolgirl lol.. At the time i had these rawhide type gloves next to me lol
 
I worked at a body-shop about 15 years ago and my eye started to hurt, just a bit. I started to rub it (mistake), 3 days later, my head was in a vice, at a specialists office, with the hottie Dr. Cathrine digging the metal out w/ an x-acto knife. Wore a eye patch for about 3 days. Excruciating pain, and I was miserable as hell.
Chemical burns in the eye really suck. Denatured alcohol blooped (for lack of a better term) out of the can when I set it down in a hurry, got in my eye. I thought I could ride it out. I was in the hospital in about 3 days (after i was convinced that it would not help to rip my own eye out).
Moral? Be Safe When Working!!!!!!! Weather it's on a 4' ladder (you can fall and break your neck changing a light bulb), under a car (please use jack stands), or anywhere else. I know sometimes we all thing we are only turning on the tool for a sec, or we are better than that, but, crap happens, and we are not bullet proof, all the time. And you cain't work hurt.
Be Safe!
 
I've paid close to $300 twice for metal in my eye. I was grinding under the car wearing safety glasses with side shields and a sliver bounced around the edge of the glasses into my eye. So, I went to the optometrist and he removed it with a bill nearly $300.00. Just about two weeks later than my first visit and only a couple of days after my follow up visit I was working under my car in the street and a huge gust of wind blew stuff into my eyes. Several hours later my eye was still really bothering so I went in and asked my wife if there was something in my eye. She asked if I had been grinding again as there was another piece of metal in there. So I went back to the optometrist and said, "I'm back!" and shelled out another $300. The good news is there was no real damage to my eye and I have learned to wear goggles whenever I'm doing anything as the glasses just don't keep stuff out of your eyes!
 
Many of you guys talk about the "wheel of death". You're not putting a 1/4" shank wire wheel in a die grinder are you? If you are, shame on you! Most wire wheels are designed for a few thousand rpm's and the die grinders run 20,000 rpm @ 90 psi. That's a hand grenade you have there. I ask a lot of questions when I sell accessories like that on my tool truck. I want to match the acc. to the proper power tool. I sell a lot of safety glasses too. They won't stop everything from getting in your eye but they really help. I also sell glasses with bi-focals built in for the older guys. LOL
tmm
 
Don't leave it in there too long. Getting the rust ring ground out is not all that fun.
 
toolmanmike said:
I also sell glasses with bi-focals built in for the older guys. LOL
tmm
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I was wearing the Olympic 30-06 bifocal safety glasses for my second metal in the eye event. I now use goggles and struggle with the fogging, sweating etc to avoid a third visit to the IDoc.
 
grimreaper said:
I was wearing the Olympic 30-06 bifocal safety glasses for my second metal in the eye event. I now use goggles and struggle with the fogging, sweating etc to avoid a third visit to the IDoc.
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Goggles are a necessary evil. I don't like face shields for that same fact.
 
PoisonDart74 said:
That $300 buys a lot of safety glasses folks. Wear that sh*t...

Good times. :violent2:
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Note to self. Buy multiple sets of eye protection!

Of all things to hurt your eye with I cut mine on a friggin leaf. About 20 years ago I was walking along a foot path at work and one my friends pointed at something over my shoulder. I looked left and walked right into a small tree branch. A small green leaf cut across the center of my pupil. The edge of the leaf had a very small serrated edge.
I work at a hospital and made a bee line for the emergency room and my boss saw me waiting in the waiting area. Told her what happened. Five minutes later she grabbed me and walked me down to one of the eye specialists and he gave it a look and gave some antibiotics for my eye and all was well in about a week, but it scared the bejesus out of me.
 
Thats true.. I could have ten sets of glasses or goggles next to me and i wouldnt have used them (before)..... My pops would be yellin and cussing.. Calling me stooopid, if i was doing something dangerous... Maybe wear goggles and a face shield :D ?? Well i was talkin bout an milwuakee 4 1/2" angle grinder, with a 5/8" shaft and a wire brush , the kind thats shaped like a cup?
 
Another thing that sucks, is when your using a chop saw and it spits out flaming red hot balls of burnin metal in your eye's. It burns like heck, and sends you crying to the sink.. Then people are trying to figure out whats going wrong inside the house o_O ... And you can hear the tttsssssss sound of the burning metal inside of you, unless thats just me.
 
7duce swinger said:
Thats true.. I could have ten sets of glasses or goggles next to me and i wouldnt have used them (before)..... My pops would be yellin and cussing.. Calling me stooopid, if i was doing something dangerous... Maybe wear goggles and a face shield :D ?? Well i was talkin bout an milwuakee 4 1/2" angle grinder, with a 5/8" shaft and a wire brush , the kind thats shaped like a cup?
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Thats the correct combo there. You did good! tmm
 
Yep, the wood in my eye wasn't there until I rubbed it. I'd sure like to have a reply of that 3 seconds!
When I was a kid, I got super glue in my eye.
Doctor sanded it off with a thick mylar backed 1/4"x2" sanding stick!
 
Funny story for yall... Years ago the mill company had a contratced optomitrist they would send us to for on the job eye injuries. So one day Duane ( aka Bucket ) left the job to go get a piece of metal taken from his eye. He rutrned to work with a small round bandaide on the right side of his nose. I said, "Damn Bucket, did the old fart go through your nose to get something out of your eye ?" He said, "The fecker went around behind me, set his mirror, then reached around and poked me with a tool !" Then he says "Oops, didn't realise it stuck out there so far." ( It was/is quite large )
So then Duane said to the doc, "Damn pops! I dont know if I want you feckin around in my eye or not".
Just before quitting time the bossman gathered us around and made an example of Duanes' experience, "One of you boys gonna leave here with a scratch on your knee and come back a girl. Be careful !".
 
Sounds like this is something we've all learned the hard way. I've been there......twice. First time it sat in there for a couple days and formed a rust ring. One nurse held my head in a brace while the other used a Dremel (no crap) to grind the rust out of my eye. Second time I went to the eye doctor and he got it out with a q-tip. Had a little rust but it was far enough into the whites of my eye he said it wouldn't affect anything. Tried grinding it but it just made it bleed so he left it. Haven't had any issues but I've learned that no matter what I'm doing I wear goggles or a face shield. Don't need to go through that again.
 
Happened to me a few times. Your body has no way to eliminate metal stuck in the cornea. Even rust will work its way in and leave a rust spot. A small sliver of metal will drive you crazy with pain. Stainless is worst since it won't degrade. I always wear goggles whenever using a wire brush or grinding, and usually whenever under the car. Problem is they fog up, even in CA. Worst is trying to use goggles and a mask, that is fog heaven and you can't see a thing. You must go to a doctor to pick embedded debris out.

Skin damage is an easy fix, you can cut out metal and splinters, or just let your body slowly move them to the surface. Since now on a "high deductible" plan, I try to fix things myself. I had a tear above the eye from a bike accident, so I cleaned it, flushed w/ peroxide and iodine, then super-glued together. Healed fine. Looks better than had a doctor left stitch marks.
 
I have had people actually tease me about the fact that I wear safety glasses (or goggles) for all kinds of things from working in the garage, weed whacking (have a small stone or piece of mulch get shot at my face a few times convinced me yard work was a safety glasses zone).. and at work.. i am a cleaner (Director of Environmental Services in a nursing home) .. was combining two half full bottles of industrial strength toilet bowl cleaner, and one bottle slipped, hit the sink and splashed up and got me in the eye.. thats an experience I will never forget.. thankfully I had no permanent damage.. but its glasses whenever I am playing with the chemicals anymore... lol.. when I get teased, I just chuckle and blow it off.. I only get one set of eyes..

People talking about the wire wheel made me think.. i have had several near misses with the wheel.. strands coming off and sticking me in the arms and whatnot,... one night I was wire wheeling some part of the engine compartment of my Dart.. with a new wheel.. everything was fine.. took a break and went to sit down and felt a shart pain down south if ya catch my drift.. stood back, up, now no matter how I moved, sharp pain... had no clue what was wrong.. walked into the house (which felt like a mile) .. got in the bathroom, went to drop my drawers and found the problem.. a 1" and half strand of wire from the wheel had gone straight through my jeans, and well... lodged in the boys... pulling that out was not fun... my friends still get a chuckle out of that story.. and so far, i am the only one i know of to have that happen LOL!
 
Numerous times i have had the metal strands shank me and i have sat down, and poke! But noooo!!,..not there man that must've been hell for you....... Yeah i did good til the grinder started fighting with my wrist and arm lol.. Left a scar to this day.. Anyone ever got electrocuted?? Try havin your car wet, and your hand is wet, and you go to tighten the starter cable, the one that goes to the solenoid box... All you hear is "bbbzzzbbzzzzttttt!!!" And followed by pain and your skin is falling off.. (i was touching the block with a ratchet, and my hand+ the positive) lol..wear gloves and eye protection!!
 
I feel like I used up a lot of luck in my younger days, guilty of every unsafe behavior there is, never getting any serious injury except for abrasive specks from a belt sander in the eye. Since I've survived into middle age without getting squashed under a car, eyesight intact, all my fingers and toes there and still working, and most of my hearing I try and be damn careful these days.
For quite a few years during my working career I was operating machines like band saws, lathes and milling machines, which can easily remove body parts if you don't pay attention. I did, in fact, have a close encounter with the band saw but, once again I was lucky and only got a small scar.

Something I witnessed, however, taught me tremendous respect for the band saw. I had a friend who was a meatcutter. One time I had him cut a steak special for me. He went and got a side of beef out of the meat locker and set it on the band saw, turned it on and proceeded to RAM the meat into the saw. It seemed like it only took the saw a split-second to cut through the meat, bone and all. I stood there stunned, thinking, holy s%&t! that could have been my hand gone that quick. After watching my friend work I was amazed that he still had all his fingers, although they were pretty heavily scarred up, so he had obviously had some close encounters too and had been lucky.
 
74Dusted said:
My dad once had a defective grinding wheel explode, shoot up under a face shield, through his throat (just on the inside of the jaw) and up into his mouth :prayer: He was extremely lucky, it only left a scar and didn't hit anything serious on the way through.
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Wait, it literally went through the skin of his throat and past his tongue into his mouth? My god that is insane!
 
ESP47 said:
Wait, it literally went through the skin of his throat and past his tongue into his mouth? My god that is insane!
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Yeah, it was brutal. After it exploded, he came stumbling over to me and says "Can you stitch this back up so we can get back to work?" I took one look at it and said "*** No! You're going to the ER for that!" He spent half a day in the ER, that was just the time it took the doctors to remove chunks of grinding wheel from his neck, jaw and mouth.

When it was all said and done, he had stitches from pretty much chin to ear (just below the jaw), plus whatever they did in the mouth too.

The weird thing is, I have a scar that looks exactly like it, in the same spot, from where I had surgery as a child (lymphoma, they removed a large amount of my lymph nodes).
 
I never wear my glasses (regular eyeglasses) when mowing, but one time for some reason I did, and that one time, a rock flew up and nailed me right in the middle of one of the lenses. Crazy good luck.

But I always always wear eye protection when doing anything in the garage. I wear them so religiously that sometimes I come inside and am wearing them around and my wife has to remind me to take them off, I don't even notice they're still on.
 
Eye injurys are the worst,
I was flashed so bad frome an arc welder once, that both eyes were bandaged.

The lady at the drive thru, after I got out out of the ER said to my wife, I am glad that my husband is not the only one that is accident prone.
 
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