Accident Prone: Trimming Trees & Picking Up Hedge Clippers

  • Thread starter Evo
  • Start date
In summary, Evo's eye was injured by a tree branch while trimming trees. While waiting for a friend to check it, he decided to also cut into a hornet's nest. His friend advised him to go to the emergency room, but Evo was hesitant. However, with the risk of infection and stories of eye parasites, he decided to go to the ER.
  • #1
Evo
Staff Emeritus
Science Advisor
24,017
3,337
I was trimming some trees and a branch went into the white of my eyeball. It's stopped bleeding now. At least the branch didn't go through my cornea. While I was waiting for the Child of Evo to come by to look at it, never being one to leave well enough alone, I decided to pick up the hedge clippers and cut into a hornet's nest. :cry:

Evo Child says I need to get to the emergency room, I think if I just keep it covered to prevent anything (dust, dirt, hornets) from entering it, it should be ok. I can't tell if there is a part of the branch lodged in my eye. It feels like it, but that just may be because the branch went through it.

I can see just fine now that the bleeding has stopped.

Oh did I mention a dangerous storm is approaching. :bugeye: We all know I've been hit by lightning before, twice, the house once, so what are the odds?

If I disappear after tonight, I leave General Discussion to the more than capable hands of Moonbear and Math Is Hard.
 
Last edited:
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #2
Go to the ER, Evo. They'll give you a cool eyepatch to wear. We'll play pirates when you get back.

Seriously, let 'em check you out and make sure nothing is stuck in there!
 
  • #3
Go now!

Evo: Please get your butt to the emergency room pronto! Especially if it feels like something's still in your eye. Go!
 
  • #4
Math Is Hard said:
Go to the ER, Evo. They'll give you a cool eyepatch to wear. We'll play pirates when you get back.

Seriously, let 'em check you out and make sure nothing is stuck in there!
Oooh, I want a cool eyepatch and to play pirates!

Seriously, It seems to look much better and I don't see anything, if I live through the storm and it still feels weird tomorrow, I will go. I just need some sympathy!
 
  • #5
Evo said:
Oooh, I want a cool eyepatch and to play pirates!

Seriously, It seems to look much better and I don't see anything, if I live through the storm and it still feels weird tomorrow, I will go. I just need some sympathy!

Sympathy after you come back from the emergency room. :smile:

I believe everything is fine too, but I would always want to double check. You have killer eyes, so they deserve to have the service it requires. :tongue:
 
  • #6
Evo said:
I was trimming some trees and a branch went into the white of my eyeball. It's stopped bleeding now. At least the branch didn't go through my cornea. While I was waiting for the Child of Evo to come by to look at it, never being one to leave well enough alone, I decided to pick up the hedge clippers and cut into a hornet's nest. :cry:

Evo Child says I need to get to the emergency room, I think if I just keep it covered to prevent anything (dust, dirt, hornets) from entering it, it should be ok. I can't tell if there is a part of the branch lodged in my eye. It feels like it, but that just may be because the branch went through it.

I can see just fine now that the bleeding has stopped.

Oh did I mention a dangerous storm is approaching. :bugeye: We all know I've been hit by lightning before, twice, the house once, so what are the odds?

If I disappear after tonight, I leave General Discussion to the more than capable hands of Moonbear and Math Is Hard.

!Go to the Emergency Room!:eek:

You may have a tree branch in your eye and your considering not going to the emergency room?!


There may be a small splinter you can't see, and an infection may develop.

You have my sympathy Evo, but please consider going to the ER!
 
  • #7
I may have to go just to not be stupid. It feels bruised, but you're right, I don't need a splinter festering in my eyeball.

Did I mention my co-worker that got a parasite in his eye from showering in the Bahamas? They think it got trapped between his cornea and his contact lens. Since it couldn't get out, it burrowed into his eye, then layed eggs, The eggs hatched and the larvae ate his eyeball, then they spread to his other eye while the doctors were trying to figure out what was happening. He woke up blind one morning.
 
  • #8
And a splinter taking root in your eye ball, then sprouting into a tree, won't be much better then a parasite laying eggs. Your kids will half to say, "Hay, there's my mom...please don't mention the tree growing out of her eye, we pretend its not there".


You should not wait till tomorrow, matters of the eye can turn bad quickly.
 
Last edited:
  • #9
Evo said:
He woke up blind one morning.

Yeah. So what's the matter with you? Go have it checked already. Geezzzwhiz. [Excuse the foul language.]
 
  • #10
That sounds so painful. Get it checked out, and I hope you turn out ok
 
  • #11
Evo said:
I may have to go just to not be stupid. It feels bruised, but you're right, I don't need a splinter festering in my eyeball.

Did I mention my co-worker that got a parasite in his eye from showering in the Bahamas? They think it got trapped between his cornea and his contact lens. Since it couldn't get out, it burrowed into his eye, then layed eggs, The eggs hatched and the larvae ate his eyeball, then they spread to his other eye while the doctors were trying to figure out what was happening. He woke up blind one morning.

Wow! And I thought hearing about you having a tree stabbed into your eye would be the most disturbing thing I heard today!

I've never been more thankful that I stopped wearing contacts!
 
  • #12
Evo, didn't we tell you that you couldn't have a Red Rider tree trimmer for Christmas?
 
  • #13
hypatia said:
And a splinter taking root in your eye ball, then sprouting into a tree, won't be much better then a parasite laying eggs. Your kids will half to say, "Hay, there's my mom...please don't mention the tree growing out of her eye, we pretend its not there".

No kidding! And just think of the neck problems that would cause.
 
  • #14
Evo you get to the doctor this instant!
 
  • #15
scorpa said:
Evo you get to the doctor this instant!
It's feeling better, just sore, the whole eyeball is bloodshot, but it looks like just the surface was broken, not a deep injury. I have safety glasses, I learned my lesson about using them. I will go to the doctor tomorrow. I've got a patch over the eye to keep it closed and keep anything from getting into it. My dog thinks I've lost my mind, he just stares at me with a frightened look on his face.

Hurkyl said:
Evo, didn't we tell you that you couldn't have a Red Rider tree trimmer for Christmas?
It's the VT 2-23 C WEED DRAGON® – 100,000 BTU Deluxe Vapor Torch Kit from now on. I'm not messing around with loppers anymore.

https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=122258
 
  • #16
Evo said:
Oooh, I want a cool eyepatch and to play pirates!
SEXY ! I would love to see a picture of that.

:approve:

marlon
 
  • #17
It's feeling better, just sore, the whole eyeball is bloodshot, but it looks like just the surface was broken, not a deep injury.
As in a scratched cornea?! That could be serious if infection sets in.

One should use an opthamological solution, which may only be available from a doctor by prescription. Waiting more than 24 hrs seems awfully risky.

Ouch -- I have a scratched cornea!
http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/2459.htm
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #18
Astronuc said:
As in a scratched cornea?!
No, it wasn't the cornea.
 
  • #19
Evo said:
Did I mention my co-worker that got a parasite in his eye from showering in the Bahamas? They think it got trapped between his cornea and his contact lens. Since it couldn't get out, it burrowed into his eye, then layed eggs, The eggs hatched and the larvae ate his eyeball, then they spread to his other eye while the doctors were trying to figure out what was happening. He woke up blind one morning.

That's it. If I ever get an oportunity to go to the Bahamas, I won't do it.

Evo said:
My dog thinks I've lost my mind, he just stares at me with a frightened look on his face.

I totally can imagine that. :tongue:

marlon said:
SEXY ! I would love to see a picture of that.

:approve:

marlon

Funny, I was just thinking the same thing, but I thought it wouldn't be appropriate. Thanks for breaking the ice, Marlon - so I second that. :biggrin:


Are you going to see a doctor, Evo?
 
  • #20
radou said:
Are you going to see a doctor, Evo?
Yes, I'm not taking any chances with my eyes.
 
  • #21
Evo! Why are you waiting until tomorrow? :grumpy: How many kids have you yelled at here telling them not to be stupid about waiting to see a doctor after an injury? If your eye was bleeding, it's damaged enough that anything could be in it. You don't know for certain that the cornea wasn't damaged. And, if you get an infection in your eye, that's a REALLY difficult place to get antibiotic to treat it and you could lose your sight before it clears. Much better to get to a doctor right away and have them clean it properly so you don't risk developing an infection. It doesn't take long for it to settle in, and you don't want to wait until there's pus oozing out of your eye to decide it's infected. You don't need to have a tree branch still stuck in there for that to happen. You've already waited too long! Go to an urgent care center if you have one around. They can at least give you antibiotic eye drops to keep any infection from getting hold until you can schedule an appointment with an optometrist.
 
  • #22
Moonbear said:
You've already waited too long! Go to an urgent care center if you have one around. They can at least give you antibiotic eye drops to keep any infection from getting hold until you can schedule an appointment with an optometrist.
Ditto on the urgent care, but don't ask to see an optometrist - you need an ophthalmologist - a doctor who is qualified and licensed to perform medical procedures, including removal of foreign objects. If you go see an optometrist, he or she is just going to refer you to an ophthalmologist anyway, and that wastes more time. Do not wait any longer. Go today to get checked out. If the urgent care facility has an ophthalmologist on call, so much the better.
 
  • #23
Maybe you can invest in some safety goggles for next time?
 
  • #24
turbo-1 said:
Ditto on the urgent care, but don't ask to see an optometrist - you need an ophthalmologist - a doctor who is qualified and licensed to perform medical procedures, including removal of foreign objects. If you go see an optometrist, he or she is just going to refer you to an ophthalmologist anyway, and that wastes more time. Do not wait any longer. Go today to get checked out. If the urgent care facility has an ophthalmologist on call, so much the better.

Oh, you're right...sorry...I always mix up the two even though I know better. :redface: Thanks for the correction.
 
  • #25
Moonbear said:
Oh, you're right...sorry...I always mix up the two even though I know better. :redface: Thanks for the correction.
I used to work for a large ophthalmic practice, and I put together presentations for the doctors to use in educating optometrists how to recognize eye conditions and refer the patients to the proper specialist. I used to mix them up, too, but found out on my first day on the job how uppity some ophthalmologists can get regarding that confusion. We had a couple of optometrists on staff, but they specialized in prescribing and fitting contact lenses.
 
  • #26
I've got a call into my doctor to see if he'll call in some antibiotic drops.
 
  • #27
Evo said:
No, it wasn't the cornea.
My mistake, I was thinking of the epithelium which is the clear outside layer over the eye which covers the cornea and sclera. A superficial scratch is one thing, but an opening/tear in the epitelium and damage to sclera could be threatening to the eye. Hopefully the doctor can dispatch a prescription before the pharmacy closes.
 
Last edited:
  • #28
So, Evo, have you been to the doctor yet?

How did this situation turn out?
 
  • #29
G01 said:
So, Evo, have you been to the doctor yet?

How did this situation turn out?
My appointment is this afternoon. Out in bright light I can see the tear much clearer, but it does look much better. I will report in after I see the doctor.
 
  • #30
Evo said:
My appointment is this afternoon. Out in bright light I can see the tear much clearer, but it does look much better. I will report in after I see the doctor.

(crosses fingers) :smile:
 
  • #31
Evo said:
My appointment is this afternoon. Out in bright light I can see the tear much clearer, but it does look much better. I will report in after I see the doctor.


Good Luck!
 
  • #32
Yes indeed good luck, could of done without the mental image of someone having their eyeballs eaten out. I don't think you have to worry there :eek:

Reminds me of the story of the guy who was paralysed by a spider, thought to be dead, and shipped back to the US in a coffin with spider and had part of his leg eaten off on the journey. Although that maybe an urban legend. :smile:
 
Last edited:
  • #33
Holy crap, Evo! I would have been in an ER ten minutes after such an accident if it happened to me. You have insurance, it's not far to the hospital, and it's incredibly important. Please don't take chances with this kind of thing, it's just not worth it!

- Warren
 
  • #34
Well one of the benefits of a national health system, we don't have to worry about the cost, or increasing premiums, so we tend to go to the hospital anyway regardless, because it's all covered, and all pretty much cheaper than insurance in the US, in fact very few people are ever covered by their national insurance payments, and the fact that it's centralised means we pay less in tax for it as well because it's 7% of GDP not 14%, we have that luxury, sadly you don't. It's nice to have that lack of regard. Of course we don't abuse it but we do use it.

Your system is in need of a revamp, but then I have mentioned that before and it is communism :tongue2: pfft the most advanced medical healthcare system in the world, scores lower than us on WHO charts, because 46 million people aren't covered at all, very roughly 1 in 6 Americans? It's a shame.
 
Last edited:
  • #35
My many years of reading medical books has paid off. (And don't anyone else dare do a self diagnosis). I was right, the sclera was torn and stopped RIGHT at the edge of the cornea.

There is no infection, thanks to a trick I've used with cat eye infections (don't anyone try that either). The doctor says it's healing nicely.

I want to thank Twsting_Edge who woke me up at 2Am to make sure I was keeping my eye closed. :!) I want to thank the fruit bat for not sneezing in my eyeball as he normally does. I want to thank the hornets for not attacking.

And I want to thank everyone here for their concern. :!) :smile:
 
Last edited:

Similar threads

  • General Discussion
2
Replies
36
Views
12K
Replies
64
Views
15K
Back
Top