Warning fellow gardeners

About 10 days ago I was digging out some old fence posts and a branch caught my eye thought no more about it, my eye was a bit red the next day but seemed to settle down then I started to get an excessive amount of "floaters" it was like black strings, my better half made me go the opticians he gave me the third degree and said I had a tear in my retina, he rang the local hospital they saw me staight away confirmed the diagnosis fit me in the list waiting for laser treatment and zapped it to seal off the tear.Just shows you cann't be to careful when out there in the jungle safety specks for me from now on

 

Mr Kandy and I were out walking along our local cycle path one windy afternoon when I felt what I thought was a piece of grit fly into my eye,and that was with me wearing glasses.I rubbed my eye hoping to get rid of it,but still it remained there.Mr Kandy had a look but couldn't see anything.

We continued on our walk but my eye still felt that it had something in it.By this time I just thought it was an eyelash from continually rubbing my eye.It also kept producing tears in it's effort to wash it out...

When I went to work the next day,the boss said I should go and see my doctor to get it looked at.My doctor thought he had removed the eyelash with a cotton bud but my eye was still smarting.

He decided then to write out a letter to the local casualty department explaining what was going on with my eye.I had to ring my husband from the surgery for him to leave work,and take me to Hospital.

Once there they did the usual letters on the wall test to see how much I could see out of the bad eye.Eventually I was called into a room by a nice lady,who sat me at one of those machines where you put your chin on the plate thingy and then she zoomed in the magnifying glasses.She quickly spotted the offending object...It was a fragment of leaf less than a mm in size that had flown into my eye on the wind and had lodged it's self on my eye ball.She puffed some Anestetic stuff in my eye before gently removing the fragment with a needle :eek: and that was it.

I had to ask her to write out a letter of her find to show my hubby and boss,because I knew that I would never be believed.I went home with some eye drops which I had to use for a few days to stop infections getting in.

I know this is nothing to do with gardening accidents,but it shows how things can go wrong even when out walking...

Shiney and Walnut,I think you both had a lucky escape there

By the way,I have been cringing while writing this as just talking about eyes makes me shiver.Never ask me to remove a fly from your eye.I shall run a mile...

 

It is the unknown injuries which puzzle me. What I mean is, I have a massive multi-coloured bruise on the side of my knee. Now you would think I would have noticed doing something to cause it, but No, nothing springs to mind.
The trouble with gardening is that there are so many ways in which one can injure oneself, from a minor splinter which goes septic to a major eye injury and round and round, that if one took all the precautions necessary, one would end up gardening in a full suit of armour with the visor down!
Hope the eye is ok.

 

Glad you're over the worst of it, Walnut - and that you were lucy that it wasn't a lot worse. And as for Shiney's story - :eek:

We all know we should wear protective clothing, and generally when I'm working for other people, I do - but in my own garden? No, I'm just as lax as everyone else!! Stupid, really, considering I have the gear, but I've often done the strimming in flipflops, where I'd be horrified at work if I didn't wear proper boots! Not to mention goggles and ear-defenders.....

A timely reminder, Walnut and Shiney - thanks!

And as for dangerous activities like going out for a walk, Kandy - well!!!

 

Just shows that we should all take safety precautions - not that I am likely to remember much longer than tomorrow. The amount of times I've nearly put a fork though my foot....

Walnut, shiney and Kandy - glad you are all OK now

 

When I was in the eye shop there was a poster up showing one of the commonest garden accidents and that is bending over and impaling your eye on a plant support cane (off to buy some of those cane covers)

 

Glad you are improving Walnut, just a small problem I experienced.

I was clearing out under the Red Acer and removed the Euphorbia that had taken over, I know the milk they produce is dangerous and washed my hand very well, stopped off for a cuppa and my eyes streamed, I tried to wash out my eyes with tepid water but eventually had to go to the hospital, was given eye drops after explaining what had caused the problem, came home and it was no better, silly me I'd still got the t-shirt on - It did take a week before my eyes were back to normal.

 

I just put a load of canes in yesterday, pushed in so they were about 3 feet high i.e. just the right height to bend down and poke your eye out on - I've been collected big sturdy yoghurt pots for the last year or so, knowing they'd come in handy, and I've dropped one on top of each cane - they might blow away I guess, but still in place so far!

Hope all the walking wounded are OK, some of those were making me cringe!