I'm wearing safety glasses MORE!

[Jeff]

I'm sitting here with one eye I can't hardly keep open for the pain and tearing in it.  I was out mowing the yard with the riding lawn mower, and somehow it flung a small stone forward that hit something, a tire maybe, and it bounced straight back and hit be square in the right eyeball.  I've never even considered wearing safety glasses on the riding lawnmower before, but I will now. I got a brand new pair with the Stihl weed whacker Tammy bought me, which you gotta where when you use that thing.

[thecfarm]

A big bummer. That hurts. I have to wear glasses or I can't see nothing. Really need a new pair now. I buy the safety glasses at the eye place. They come with the side shields too.That way I don't have to take mine off when I'm grinding or mowing the lawn.  They cost about twice as much. But my convenience is worth something.

[Weekend_Sawyer]

Ouch !

[grweldon]

Been wearing them on the job for 30 years.  When I'm on the farm I feel naked without eye protection of some sort.  Even sunglasses help quite a bit even though most aren't ANSI approved.  Sorry to hear of your injury, hope it heals without intervention of the medical sort...

[thecfarm]

2 things,I am shocked at the amount of people I see using a trimmer and no eye protection. Some are right on the edge of the road,by the gravel and I know that gravel is just a flying at them.
I will tell on myself.  :-[ 
The other day I hauled out some small trees,about 4 inches across for firewood. I sawed them up and was throwing the wood into the bucket. One still had a limb on it that I missed and I did not realize it until it hit me upside the head. Man that hurt,really stung my ear. I kept right on a going after rubbing my ear and calling myself a dummy. I looked away and thought how fuzzy things looked and kept right on a going. Than I reached up to adjust my glasses and realized that my glasses were not on my head,after I had thrown in at least 3 more loads of wood into the bucket.  I started to look for them,but can't see nothing. I need my glasses to find my glasses.  :D I was close to the house and I came up and got the wife. We both went down to the tractor. I walked up behind the tractor,because I can't see and did not want to step on them. Just for giggles I started to look into the bucket and I found them between 2 pieces of wood.Some how I could see them. Why I did not throw some wood on them is beyond me. Just lucky. I've had my glasses knocked off a few other times,but those times I knew it happened and just stood there and I knew what way they went and found them. This time I had no idea where they was.

[SwampDonkey]

I wear safety screened glasses in the bush, because it would be easy to poke an eye, with either a twig that was browsed making it pointy or by spruce needles. You might not think of spruce needles as sharp, but work in red spruce and you'll find it to be prickly stuff. It's not like cactus, but it'll still bite the skin. I know one fellow that about ruined one eye from getting a whack by a branch or stick. I wear eye protection with a weed whacker as well. Never thought of it on a mower, but I wear glasses anyway.

[LeeB]

I'm a fanatic about them at work, but do have to admit to being a bit lax at home. Hope all turns out ok.

[lowpolyjoe]

That's rough Jeff.   I wear my safety glasses when doing just about anything these days.  But i have to admit, a riding mower would have seemed like a safe place to go without to me.  Hope everything works out ok.

I've got a floating spot in one eye and some days it drives me bonkers.  Don't want any more of them.  Also got hit just under the eye with a brad that bounced off some moulding a while back.  Scary.

I cringe whenever i see anyone doing anything risky without eye protection.  I guess i'll add riding mower to the list. 

[Jeff]

I think my eye will be fine, but it still feels like I had a finger poked in it. I can hole it open and see fine, it just hurts when I blink. 

[beenthere]

I'd patch it for awhile to give it some rest. Keeps one from the painful blinking. But the pain is likely either an eyeball scratch that needs to heal or some debris on the eye surface.
I had some rust on my eyeball (son-in-laws muffler job) and that blinkin pain didn't go away. Finally went to the eye doc and he took the rust off the eyeball (don't need those details) which eye docs can still see the scar. Said if I'd come sooner, likely would be no scar.

[drobertson]

Yea, that's a bad one for sure, who would've figured?  I have to wear glasses full time, and they are safety glasses as well, but this is no guarantee that trash won't get in the eye,   david

[WDH]

Four stitches in the left eyeball later, I now wear safety glasses.  Four stitches in the left eyeball is no fun at all.  Safety glasses are a barrel of monkeys (I am sure sure that you young guys will not understand the "barrel of monkeys" reference, but all of the Old Farts will  ).

[SwampDonkey]

When I was a kid, some toy outfit came out with a small barrel containing plastic monkeys. I forget the purpose of this, but might have been to see how many monkeys you could chain by just holding the first one in the chain. The hands where turned up like a J-hook. So you hooked one to another in this way. That's all I remember about a barrel of monkeys. :D ;)

[Ianab]

They haven't been totally forgotten, they are in all the Toy Story movies   ;)

The idea of the game was to hold one monkey, and see how many more you could hook out of the barrel in a chain, only holding the top monkey.

Ian

[Weekend_Sawyer]

More fun than a barrel of monkeys!

[WDH]

See  :D.

[grweldon]

Just last night I was using the box blade in a small area that had been previously heavy overgrowth (Chinese Privet) before I mowed over it.  I was gathering the debris with the scarifiers on the box blade and pulling up the roots.  A branch from somewhere smacked me directly in my left eyeball.  If I hadn't been wearing glasses, I would have been in serious trouble.

Cfarm, I wear glasses when mowing with the riding mower AND when using a line trimmer.  When I finish trimming my glasses are covered with stuff that would have ended up hitting near or in my eye.  I've been in manufacturing for 30 years and glasses have always been manditory.  I feel naked without them at work or home.

[Magicman]

Ouch !!!  I always wear them when sawing or cutting, but there are still odd times when "life" happens.

[Wick]

Don't forget the hearing protection as well. Damage to the inner parts of the ear from excessive noise is irreversible. I keep a pair of the small rubber ones on the lawn mower.

[Hilltop366]

I wear glasses but when using a line trimmer I will put on my saw helmet for extra protection.

[grweldon]

I don't have a saw helmet, but now that you mention it, that sounds like the way to go!

As for hearing protection, I use it with just about everything!  I am a recording musician and a sound tech at church functions and you can't mix well if you can't hear well!

[OneWithWood]

My Peltor lumberman helmet has a radio built in so I wear it for many things.  When mowing I like to put the mesh shield down when mowing close to trees.  It is great for weed whacking, sawmilling, working on the barn addition and so many things.  I am sure the neighbors thing I am a bit tetched because I have it on so much.
_{...they may be right}

[SwampDonkey]

I also put the plugs in with any saws and the lawn mower. ;)

[davidlarson]

I agree with those who choose to wear safety glasses, hearing protection, chain saw chaps, gloves, and other safety gear.  I am a retired physician (internal medicine, geriatrics) with many years duty in the emergency room as well.  Many is the time I saw people (usually men) with injuries, sometimes with lasting disability, from not wearing safety gear.  Some of these were really tragic.  Be careful and be safe, guys! 
David L.

[tyb525]

I've been hit in or near the eye way too many times with too many things, knots, etc. I've had to have a rust speck removed on two difference occasions. Add on to that it seems like I am getting something in my eye nearly every day, sawdust, etc. I like wearing safety glasses but I always get the cheap kind that get scratched up really easy, and those are no fun to wear. I guess I need to invest in a good pair!

My eyes seem to be dust magnets. If there is a piece of dust flying through the air, it usually lands directly in my eye.