One thing I haven’t seen on your blog is eye treatment. Nothing can
put you out of action faster than an eye problem. Recently, I developed a bacterial
infection in my right eye which was treated with a prescription oral antibiotic.
I also used eye drops to help lubricate the eye and relieve some of the irritation.
There are many different eye drops available. I used Allergan Refresh Tears
which I bought at Costco. For my situation, my doctor said it was a good choice.
My doctor informed me that I could have acquired the infection in many ways
including rubbing the eye, someone sneezing or coughing around me. I also work
at an auto shop where one of the guys is blind in one eye from an injury. Eye
protection should be the first priority in protective gear. Make sure any safety
glasses acquired have side protection and use goggles in dusty environments.
Since most safety lenses are plastic and are easily scratched, make sure you
get extra lenses. Sterile ophthalmic irrigation solutions (eye wash) should
be included in first aid kits for rinsing the eyes if exposed to dust or chemicals.
The eye wash solutions can be found in EMT. supply houses. One I am familiar
with is Bound Tree Medical.
They offer several sizes from 1⁄2 oz to 16 oz. I like the 4 oz size because
it provides sufficient fluid for most situations and fits in most industrial
first aid
kits. - Bill N.
JWR Replies: Many thanks for raising this topic. Eye protection
is crucial. Whenever anyone in my family shoots we always wear eye
and ear protection.
Ditto whenever we use a chainsaw. (BTW, I use a Stihl
brand "forestry" helmet with built-in earmuffs and a full face mesh
screen,
although I've
read that the Peltor brand may be superior.) We now store our workshop
face goggles right on top of our bench grinder, where we can't forget to use
them. A friend of mine with a very nice photovoltaic power system does essentially
the same thing in his battery box:: he stores a set of wrap-around goggles
right
next to his hydrometer.
(This, BTW, is a good practice for all safety gear. Store it alongside your
tools--otherwise it will be "out of sight, out of mind." You won't
forget to wear you kevlar safety chaps if you store them draped across your
chainsaw
box.)
We don't drink alcohol at the Rawles
Ranch but we keep a shot glass handy,
since they make an ideal
"eye
cup" for
irrigating
foreign
matter
out
of an
eye. And
now
that
you've mentioned it, I now plan to add a mini-eye-wash station
to
our workshop. That is cheap insurance.
Parenthetically, many years ago a friend of our family was doing some tree pruning
in his yard and had a pine bough whip across his face. This deeply scratched
the cornea of
his right and caused him
years of trouble and some expensive medical bills. Simply wearing
goggles would have prevented this mishap.
