eye injury today using brushcutter

[jimbarry]

 I was out in the woods this afternoon, brush trails with the brush cutter. Either a rock or a chunk of wood come up and hit me in the right eye. Yes, I was wearing safety equipment with helmet, hearing protection and face shield (mesh shield). I fell to the ground of course, the pain incredible. I was on the other side of the property so I had a 3-4 min walk out of the woods to get to the quad, then about a 2 min drive back home. Went straight to the bathroom, looked in the mirror, with blood running out of my eye. "Hon, I think I have to go to the hospital." So off we go, 4 hr wait in the triage room. Doc said minor contusions, wrote a prescription for polysporin eyedrops, take 4 times a day for a week to fight any infection that might come.


 

[nk14zp]

Ouch.  But imagine the damage with no safety gear on.

[thecfarm]

That hurts and will bother you for a few days. Take care of it.

[Warbird]

Yikes.  Glad it wasn't worse.

[Chuck White]

No matter what you wear for eye protection, seems like somethings can get you anyway!

Hope you get well soon, it's probably your shootin' eye too, and huntin' season is right around the corner!

[jimbarry]

Thanks everybody. Its a new day, eye is about the same but feels good.

No matter what you wear for eye protection, seems like somethings can get you anyway!

Let me tell you a short story that happened in July. Out in the woods clearing brush, wearing all the same gear and safety glasses. Glasses had a bit of tint to them. Lots of alder saplings to clear. Cut some, bent over to pick up an arm full of cuttings and I made contact with a whip. You know, a small thin little sapling. It went through the mesh, hit my glasses, deflected along the lens until it hit my nose and then straight into the corner of my eye. All that happened in an instant. I instantly froze yoo, and stood like that for a second or two with the thought rolling through my head "There's a *&&$ stick in my eye." Not much to do but stand up, which I did. No irritation, no blood, no bother... no trip to the  hospital. And that's why I wasn't wearing glasses yesterday, trying to be more careful by having more visual awareness.

I work from home in an office environment, so the only bit of exercise I get is working a bit outdoors. Its a great way to get some exercise and decompress.

Yes, hunting season is fast approaching. I don't own a gun though. Lots of deer around the house. Always makes me nervous as there's always hunters on the prowl, not from the area, not knowing the lay of the land. All private land here and no one allows hunting. When I hear gun shots, I'm always waiting to see if one comes through the window.

[Ed_K]

Glad your ok,seems that when I run my brush saw there's a lot of debrie coming up.I wear glasses all the time and the face shield down and still feel stuff hit my face.

[CTYank]

Some months back, I pointed out to a fellow sawyer that a wire mesh face screen did not provide significant eye protection. (Unlike me, he does not require glasses.)

Ever since, he puts on polycarbonate eye protection before grabbing a saw. Highly preferable to a seeing-eye dog, no?

Speaking just for me, even a wire screen and protective specs sometimes are not enough, if the wind is right.

OP: hoping all is better soon.

[drobertson]

Sorry about your eye, this kinda injury sure hurts,, but heals pretty quick as well, every eye injury I've had has been while wearing protection, crazy how objects get around the protection,    david

[jimbarry]

Update: It cleared up within 4-5 days with no permanent damage.

[clww]

That's great news for sure. ;)

[thecfarm]

That must make you feel better now?

[BradMarks]

JimBarry:  Glad you have healed.  Personally, I never have used a face screen, too much distance between face and screen. And wearing safety glasses still leaves exposed ares, particularly on the side.  I have always used wire mesh goggles that fit snug around the eyes.  Particular brand I use are "Bugz Eyes".  Saved me one day from a spring loaded yew wood branch, blunt force to the brow between the eyes. Knocked me to the ground, saw stars. Never have been pretty but it kep't me from being uglier!!!

[Magicman]

I had a spark from the sidegrinder get my left eye today.   :-\  How it got around the glasses I do not know, but it was red when it hit my eye.  It stuck at first and then came off.  Drops have helped, but I can still feel it.

[Warbird]

I had a hot cinder/spark from the wood stove do almost the same thing to me, MM.  This one somehow went around my glasses and caught the lower eyelid just beneath the eyeball.  Coulda been bad.  Hope yours heals fast and requires no further treatment!

[Magicman]

Mine was OK because it was well up into the next day before I even thought about it.  Kinda scary though.   

[shootingarts]

All we can do is minimize risk. My first surgery at the ripe ol' age of two or three was to have a piece of rust removed that the surface of the eye ball had grown over a bit before it was noticed. Life on the farm, guess I was outside by myself when I got hurt and it didn't occur to me to tell anyone.

A friend lost an eye to a hanging piece of wire in a petro-chem plant, while wearing proper safety gear.

I wear various things but when wearing safety glasses I kind of like my Blues Brothers style wrap arounds that fit more tightly to my head than most safety glasses. Used to like the machinist style glasses with the tight fitting side shields with tiny holes in them.  I buy the wraps ten pair to the box for a couple dollars a pair. When they get scratched up or I lose them they aren't painful to swap out. I wear tinted ones in the truck or for some operations, available tinted, indoor/outdoor, or clear.

Some are available bifocal too. Very good for some things, not everything. Had a pair of them on running the chain saw a week or three ago. Only pair I had with me on the tractor. Wow, can that screw with your depth perception! Fortunately the bifocal area is just stuck on plastic and can be peeled off.

As I get older and having hurt my eyes pretty badly a few times I get better and better about taking time to get the protection I know I should have. New blue jeans aren't made out of the same bulletproof fabric they were forty years ago, time for me to get some chaps too.

Hu

[thecfarm]

Someone on here said,chaps cost as much as a co-pay for an emergency room visit. I like to repeat it.  ;D

[shootingarts]

Someone on here said,chaps cost as much as a co-pay for an emergency room visit. I like to repeat it.  ;D

Obviously they haven't covered co-pay lately. Chaps are a bargain in comparison, even the most expensive!

(yeah, I need to get off my rear and decide which chaps I want and get them on order.)

Hu

[thecfarm]

That came from an old thread,but still sounds good.  ;D

[shootingarts]

That came from an old thread,but still sounds good.  ;D

Yeah, it is good. Plain and simple, emergency room visits can run up a monster co-pay. Not only that chainsaws leave some extreme ugly wounds behind with lots of tissue damage, soft tissue or bone and cartilage. After all of that the person still needs the chaps. Always better to close the gate before the cows get out.

Hu

[grweldon]

That came from an old thread,but still sounds good.  ;D

Might have come from my old thread when the chain just "touched" the top of my leg above my knee.  10 stitches (as I said, it was minor) later and a total of $1200, the chaps were a GREAT bargain!  I have to get one of the helmets with hearing and face protection.