Grinding today? Wear Eye Protection!

[caption id="attachment_4835" align="alignright" width="300"] Photo by Mary Tart, C.O.A.[/caption] Every week, we have young men arrive at our office with red, painful eyes following their grinding metal. The findings under the eye microscope are predictable - a shard of metal, which can be only a fraction of a millimeter in size, had struck the delicate clear cornea and embedded itself. Rust may be seen due to the moist environment of the eye's surface. If the metal hasn't embedded itself too deeply, it is removed under anesthesia with a needle or other instrument. Then, the rust is often removed with a rotating burr. If the young man is fortunate, the metal hasn't landed in the exact middle of the cornea, where it can cause permanent glare and blurred vision. Bottom line? Wear eye protection when grinding! Paul Krawitz, M.D., President and Founder VisiVite.Com