Getting super glue in your eye - easier than you think

Just got back from the hospital.

You probably think getting super glue in your eye takes Idiocracy-level stupidity, but I got some in mine today and I didn't mistake it for eyedrops, and I wasn't having a playful super glue fight with friends.

I was opening a tube of it, puncturing the foil inside the cap. Holding by the sides to not put pressure on the tube and make a mess. Cap facing to my left. That's when it sprayed all over the place.

I got some in my left eye and started flushing it with water right away. At first my eye was glued shut, but eventually I got it open. Then my eyeball was stuck looking up and to the left. I kept flushing it, then soaked a towel and dripped it into my eye on the ride on the Ghetto Ambulance (hey, it's faster and cheaper than the real thing).

When I got to the hospital DIY care was still essential since they wanted me to sit in a waiting room for a while, even though my sister called ahead. No, don't start flushing my eye right away, I'll wait. I kept using the towel to drip water in my eye. I could look around a bit at this point but it hurt.

Then when I went inside they started rigging up a DIY eye wash station with IV equipment...another 10-15 minutes. Finally my eye started getting flushed...

Anyway now with a bunch of eyedrops to use, I'm OK apart from the fact that it hurts when I look right.

Moral of this story:

Close your eyes and look away, or wear safety glasses when opening super glue.

I, for one, will not use super glue in a squeeze-tube again. Strictly dropper bottles from now on, that don't have to be punctured.

I hate it when that happens...

One time I was filling a motorcycle battery with battery acid; I thought I was being careful (even though I wasn't wearing safety glasses ) but one drop of the acid splashed up from the battery and went right in my eye. I flushed it out right away and had no lasting effects but it sure stung for a while.

A few weeks ago, my five year old accidentally stuck her thumb into my eye, nail first. I didn't see it coming and didn't turn away or even blink. It felt like it went in far enough to scratch my brain. It was the most immediately disabling pain that I've ever felt and took me out for the next 14 hours. The doctor put some kind of medicated contact lens bandage in and I could finally open both eyes again. Fortunately, it healed in about four days.

If I ever need to defend myself from an attacker, I will immediately target the eyes.

All these scenarios will give me nightmares tonight. Thank you for that. I'm certain it's bad enough for anyone to have this happen, but add to my already freakish paranoia about my eyeballs because of my pilot career....

The joke was going to be: so you didn't immediately flush with acetone? But I didn't have the heart. I hope full function is restored post-haste.

When I was about 2, I was sitting in a high chair while my mother fed me. She turned to say something to someone else, and when she turned back the lit end of her cigarette nailed me dead center in the pupil.

I think she suffered more than I did, luckily, but that's about my earliest memory. Joys of growing up in the '60s.

Glad to hear you're making a good recovery,, GRMH!

You know, every once in a while I think about getting the laser eye thing done, or going to contacts, then I look at my glasses and think of all the times a chunk of metal or paint or whatever has landed on them instead of in my eye. It is cheap to replace the glasses. Eyes, more expensive.

One day I was slicing some very hot peppers and left the knife on the cutting board. My wife came along and sliced up a mango then licked the knife clean. Got hot pepper juice on her lips...that were chapped..lots of crying, ice cream, milk flush, finally a call to the hospital revealed warm soapy water as the cure. One of those great moments in time where you really want to feel sorry for someone, but you just can't stop laughing.

Dr. Hess wrote: You know, every once in a while I think about getting the laser eye thing done, or going to contacts, then I look at my glasses and think of all the times a chunk of metal or paint or whatever has landed on them instead of in my eye. It is cheap to replace the glasses. Eyes, more expensive.

This. I wore contacts for years until they became uncomfortable, thought about laser or RK, a couple of friends had it done and one had immediate un-fixable night vision problems. Nope, don't want to chance that.

Then a few years ago I had a tiny piece of something click off the right lens of my glasses, that tiny pit eventually turned into a crack. I still use those glasses as my 'work in the garage' pair and they are a reminder of what can happen. I guess my ego and vanity will have to take a back seat.

My brother and I were down at the automotive skills center at the Fort working on his Nissan Xterra when he got a piece of something in his eye. I had previous expereince with the eye wash, so I just told him to go use that and be ready because the right side pressurizes first and can surprise you. I walked over 30 seconds later and saw a pool of water all over the floor with him laughing (and soaking wet). Apparently, he bent over the eye wash and grabbed onto the giant pull-handle above him and turned on... you guessed it. The chemical shower.

That handle isn't spring loaded either.

I'm sorry to hear about your misfortune. It's a shame that super glue seems to do its best work on human skin and, apparently, eyeballs. I'm happy that you are unharmed by the incident. Thank you for sharing the seriously-enlightening story (no more squeeze tubes for me either now).

When I was 16 my car wouldn't start, and the neighbour offered to give me a boost. It was late on a Friday night and I couldn't tell which post was which on his battery. With my face about 10 inches from it, somebody thought it would be a good idea to light their lighter so i could see. This was in the days of vented batteries, and since the car had been running for about an hour at night, it had been charging pretty hard. The hydrogen gas lit, and that battery blowed up real good. My eyes were burning, but I made it to the bathroom in my house, and flushed my face really well. I can't believe I didn't sustain any damage. There was NOTHING left of his battery.

I imagine it would be bad to get it on your hootus as well.

i had a 40lb glass shock tube explode on me at work. my face was about 4 inches away, on the top of a 32FT extension ladder. i calmly went down, one step at a time, and swept up the glass. i was calm cause i could see just fine. i could see cause i had my safety's on. i do absolutely nothing without them. including, now, opening super glue.

-J0N

1988RedT2 wrote: I imagine it would be bad to get it on your hootus as well.

Damn, you beat me to it.

Zomby Woof wrote: When I was 16 my car wouldn't start, and the neighbour offered to give me a boost. It was late on a Friday night and I couldn't tell which post was which on his battery. With my face about 10 inches from it, somebody thought it would be a good idea to light their lighter so i could see. This was in the days of vented batteries, and since the car had been running for about an hour at night, it had been charging pretty hard. The hydrogen gas lit, and that battery blowed up real good. My eyes were burning, but I made it to the bathroom in my house, and flushed my face really well. I can't believe I didn't sustain any damage. There was NOTHING left of his battery.

That's amazing. I know two other people who had that happen to them. No damage to either person either. The funny thing is, I saw it happen to my Dad's GMC Jimmy once and it blasted the hood off the first latch from the concusion. Nothing remained of the battery either, and I have had a healthy fear of them ever since.

tr8todd wrote: One day I was slicing some very hot peppers and left the knife on the cutting board. My wife came along and sliced up a mango then licked the knife clean. Got hot pepper juice on her lips...

You don't want to get THAT ish on your hootus, either. If I make chili or nachos, I wash my hands with GoJo after.

I generally recommend as a cleanse to find some of those orange peppers and a knife- slice them badboys up a bit, then take your hands, and "handle" yourself. You will feel cleansed.

GameboyRMH wrote: Just got back from the hospital. You probably think getting super glue in your eye takes Idiocracy-level stupidity, but I got some in mine today and I didn't mistake it for eyedrops, and I wasn't having a playful super glue fight with friends. I was opening a tube of it, puncturing the foil inside the cap. Holding by the sides to not put pressure on the tube and make a mess. Cap facing to my left. That's when it sprayed all over the place. I got some in my left eye and started flushing it with water right away. At first my eye was glued shut, but eventually I got it open. Then my eyeball was stuck looking up and to the left. I kept flushing it, then soaked a towel and dripped it into my eye on the ride on the Ghetto Ambulance (hey, it's faster and cheaper than the real thing). When I got to the hospital DIY care was still essential since they wanted me to sit in a waiting room for a while, even though my sister called ahead. No, don't start flushing my eye right away, I'll wait. I kept using the towel to drip water in my eye. I could look around a bit at this point but it hurt. Then when I went inside they started rigging up a DIY eye wash station with IV equipment...another 10-15 minutes. Finally my eye started getting flushed... Anyway now with a bunch of eyedrops to use, I'm OK apart from the fact that it hurts when I look right. Moral of this story: Close your eyes and look away, or wear safety glasses when opening super glue. I, for one, will not use super glue in a squeeze-tube again. Strictly dropper bottles from now on, that don't have to be punctured.

Same thing happen to me when I was 18 or so. I opened a tube of glue with an x-acto knife. Took a ride to the ER and let the doctor pluck glue off my eyeball. Glad to see I'm not the only one this has happened to.

Scratched the lens of my eye with an errant wood chip in Junior High woodshop, despite my wearing glasses. No fun.

1988RedT2 wrote: I imagine it would be bad to get it on your hootus as well.

I learned the hard way why you never put a tube of CA glue in your front pants pocket back in my RC car days. To get the pants off I cut the bottom of the pocket off as it was fused to my leg and good ol' lefty. I wore that patch of lint and pocket corner around for a good three days before I had the heart douse my junk in thinner/solvent.

I literally still have nightmares about it whenever I've been using the stuff.

Just one week ago, I was brakleening the inside of my transaxle bell housing. My safety glasses are a bit scuffed up, so I had trouble seeing through them and set them aside. Sure enough, the bell housing's shape arced the Brakleen jet right back into my eyes. After a nice 15 minute eye wash, I thankfully didn't sustain any damage.

I've built balsa model planes for 40+ years and used CA glues since they were first introduced c. 1975

(Satellite City Hot Stuff - revolutionized model building. And gluing quarters to the floor by the coke machine)

...I've glued my fingers to the work a million times, and keep debonder around just in case. It's nitromethane, by the way. It wasn't 'til the mid-90s I finally managed to get some in the face. I was holding a rib cap-strip sprung into place, put a fat drop of thin CA on and somehow used the part like a spring to fling it in my eye.

I wear soft contacts, and the drop hit dead center. Everything went all fuzzy and I thought I'd seriously F'd up. I ran to the bathroom, holding the eye open and not blinking, all "Clockwork Orange" style, and when I looked in the mirror, was amazed to find the contact not bonded to my eye. Aside from the heat generated by the CA curing aggressively on the wet contact lens, which hurt, I was fine. Removed the lens and used some Visine for a day or so.

I'm a big fan of safety glasses anymore.

Good luck with a speedy recovery. My worst was opening a bottle of siracha and it exploded in my eye.

wow that sounds significantly worse than the time I got Habanero in my eyes.

Mitchell wrote: Just one week ago, I was brakleening the inside of my transaxle bell housing. My safety glasses are a bit scuffed up, so I had trouble seeing through them and set them aside. Sure enough, the bell housing's shape arced the Brakleen jet right back into my eyes. After a nice 15 minute eye wash, I thankfully didn't sustain any damage.

BTDT, no fun.

My dad has a cautionary tale about wearing PPE when topping off car battery water, had a drop jump back into his eye, claims the garden hose sprayer he was luckily already holding hurt less than the acid.

kanaric wrote: wow that sounds significantly worse than the time I got Habanero in my eyes.

I've gotten pepper sprayed.... terribly unpleasant.