Glue, a Cautionary Tale
Last night I was assembling some Dark Elf plastic Corsairs when I gave myself a fright. The paint brush connected to the liquid poly glue flicked a large drop into my left eye. It stung and I rushed to the bathroom to rinse the eye with water.
My distance eyesight has always been terrible but my close vision is excellent so I usually remove my glasses when reading close up or doing modelling and painting. I read the caution on the bottle which said 'Avoid contact with eyes'. I looked up the Internet which mentioned permanent eye damage from Superglue and eyelids stuck shut for a week. I gathered that the poly glue was less damaging but rang the hospital which advised I ring the Eye and Ear hospital in Melbourne. The woman told me to get to a hospital immediately and get the eye washed with saline solution and ph checked.
At 12.30AM I arrived at the local hospital emergency department expecting to be there for hours but fortunately they were not busy and I saw someone in ten minutes. After examining the glue, which he tested on his hand, and examining my eye, he said there was no damage and that it would not get right into my eye.
It all set me thinking about how much my life would change if I had no or little sight. What point would there be having models and toy soldiers if I could not see them? I think, in future I'll leave my glasses on or wear goggles when I use most glues.
My distance eyesight has always been terrible but my close vision is excellent so I usually remove my glasses when reading close up or doing modelling and painting. I read the caution on the bottle which said 'Avoid contact with eyes'. I looked up the Internet which mentioned permanent eye damage from Superglue and eyelids stuck shut for a week. I gathered that the poly glue was less damaging but rang the hospital which advised I ring the Eye and Ear hospital in Melbourne. The woman told me to get to a hospital immediately and get the eye washed with saline solution and ph checked.
At 12.30AM I arrived at the local hospital emergency department expecting to be there for hours but fortunately they were not busy and I saw someone in ten minutes. After examining the glue, which he tested on his hand, and examining my eye, he said there was no damage and that it would not get right into my eye.
It all set me thinking about how much my life would change if I had no or little sight. What point would there be having models and toy soldiers if I could not see them? I think, in future I'll leave my glasses on or wear goggles when I use most glues.
That is scarey and I'm glad that you're OK. I work around metal and always wear safety plastic lenses. Crazy to think that you can damage your eyes just doing your hobby.
ReplyDeleteI have to wear glasses for painting these days, and use a pair of magnifying ones from a specialist outlet, this helps. In earlier days I obtained a set of clear (non prescription) glasses from a theatre costume outlet and they protected my eyes from flying sawdust etc., they'd probably cost the earth now. The eyes definitely need protecting, as without them we'd be in trouble.
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