A tool for all. A magnet.

Here's a tip which might come in handy one day. I hope none of us need it but stuff happens, especially to those who have a workshop.
This morning a bit of grinding debris got passed my glasses and into my eye, causing considerable pain which got worse during the day. Numerous washes did nothing except for a bit of short term relief. About 40 years ago I had a similar problem and the eye doc used a schapel to literally scrape off a burnt on bit of steel. I was not looking forward to a repeat of that.

Then I had an idea, I was grinding steel, steel is magnetic. What would happen if I put a rare earth magnet very close to my eye and followed the edge around. I was hoping that when I was done there would be a fine steel particle on the magnet, what I got was a surprise. Not one fine particle but numerous bits of super fine stuff, obviously an accumulation of airbourne steel dust, it would have been enough to cover a small pin head. I did not see it but the larger lump that caused the pain must have been in there. Anyway, it was almost instant relief, I washed it again and repeated the magnet trick and got a little bit more out. I guess in the morning I'll know for sure if the problem has gone completely. I have some mild discomfort still but you always get that for a while after an eye irritation.

Footnote: Complete cure, eye feels great.

Thanks for the tip, Tony - and best wishes for your speedy recovery!
(AFAIK: If I remember correctly, the cornea has the fastest recuperative capacity of all our organs)

I acquired an "empirically well-grounded phobia" against foreign objects in the eye over 40 years ago,
when fixing up a´73 Vauxhall Viva I visited the hospital 3 times in 2 weeks for the very same reason.
Got my skull belted to a lathe-like contraption with a magnetic drill and a fierce light. Not my idea of fun.

The Doc politely told me the last time: "Don't you think you've had enough of this now, lad?"
Improved the fit of the glasses each time. Meticulous with those ever since.
I haven't hitherto gone back there, but your clever tip is welcome for some time when I might run out of luck.

Near-OT: Some of us can't even get an MRI scan of our heads if we should need one,
due to those small metal fragments who've worked themselves to the back of the eyes thru the years.
An ordinary x-ray to determine that is used over here to avoid those
(thru the alternating & strong MRI field) resonating magnetic particles damaging the 2nd Cranial nerve.
Pretty considerate, if you think about it. Bummer about the canceled MRI, though.

ATB!
Johan

Johan,

Yes, I know about the MRI problem and I believe that a CT scan is the alternative but that is not so good at detecting cancers and tumors.

Of course over the course of a long life I have had many occasions with something in the eye, not all from the workshop. As I said there was only one occasion when I needed medical attention which was 40 years ago. Back then I was slack with wearing protective glasses, since then I have got more careful but on this last occasion a rogue piece got passed. It was the accumulated fine dust that the magnet attracted which was a surprise to me. You would need glasses sealed to your face to prevent that. Some days previously I had been milling and turning cast iron which creates fine dust in the air. I suspect that was responsible for the fine junk. I might do the magnet trick next time that I machine cast iron.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by tonyfoale

Here's a tip which might come in handy one day. I hope none of us need it but stuff happens, especially to those who have a workshop.
This morning a bit of grinding debris got passed my glasses and into my eye, causing considerable pain which got worse during the day. Numerous washes did nothing except for a bit of short term relief. About 40 years ago I had a similar problem and the eye doc used a schapel to literally scrape off a burnt on bit of steel. I was not looking forward to a repeat of that.

Then I had an idea, I was grinding steel, steel is magnetic. What would happen if I put a rare earth magnet very close to my eye and followed the edge around. I was hoping that when I was done there would be a fine steel particle on the magnet, what I got was a surprise. Not one fine particle but numerous bits of super fine stuff, obviously an accumulation of airbourne steel dust, it would have been enough to cover a small pin head. I did not see it but the larger lump that caused the pain must have been in there. Anyway, it was almost instant relief, I washed it again and repeated the magnet trick and got a little bit more out. I guess in the morning I'll know for sure if the problem has gone completely. I have some mild discomfort still but you always get that for a while after an eye irritation.

Footnote: Complete cure, eye feels great.

---

I suggest you check with your eye doctor before trying this. My doctor said to never use a magnet.

Rick

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by rgsparber

I suggest you check with your eye doctor before trying this. My doctor said to never use a magnet.

Rick

---

Too late Rick. I've done it. It worked.
I posted that tip on Facebook as well and several people pointed out that their doctors had used essentially the same method.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by rgsparber

I suggest you check with your eye doctor before trying this. My doctor said to never use a magnet.

Rick

---

Interesting, your post inspired me to search for ophthalmologist eye magnet, which led to intraocular magnet. You can see some studies and up-close surgical photos with the query intraocular magnetic foreign body removal. There are home use "eye magnet" tools on Amazon, but maybe if the metal is embedded in a certain position or area of the eye then it has to be removed carefully by a surgeon.

Amazon version:
https://diqn32j8nouaz.cloudfront.net...eye_magnet.jpg

Surgical version with different tips. More: https://amblersurgical.com/browse-by...ocular-magnets
https://diqn32j8nouaz.cloudfront.net...eye_magnet.jpg

Also available as an electromagnet:
https://diqn32j8nouaz.cloudfront.net...ctromagnet.jpg

Finally, not necessarily recommending this, but I found this "Dude mah eyeball already feels better" vid:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDvbtLlPlgg

edit: A magnet may be dangerous if you're trying to remove more than a speck, because the magnet could yank a fragment through the surface of the eyeball, rather than extracting it out through its entry hole, like a splinter.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by tonyfoale

Too late Rick. I've done it. It worked.
I posted that tip on Facebook as well and several people pointed out that their doctors had used essentially the same method.

---

Tony, It worked this time. It the sliver was at a bad angle, the magnet could drag it through your eye and do a lot of damage.

My surgeon used a knife so I guess I could buy the same knife and work on my friend ;-)

Rick

Long ago I purchased a concave mirror from Edmund Scientific for looking into your eye. I have used it a couple of times and found the object in my eye and was able to remove the object...
Attachment 39470

A good buddy of mine had a splinter of metal in his eye. The doctor drilled in around it with this little spring-like thing, and plucked the whole affected region out. The splinter went, but some eye meat went with it. It worked. He's fine now. But that story gave me nightmares.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by rgsparber

Tony, It worked this time. It the sliver was at a bad angle, the magnet could drag it through your eye and do a lot of damage.

Rick

---

Rick,

Yes I understand that and I would not use the technique on anything other than what I thought was just on the surface.
It has been a surprise to me to find out that magnets are widely used for this. i had not heard of it previously.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nova_robotics

A good buddy of mine had a splinter of metal in his eye. The doctor drilled in around it with this little spring-like thing, and plucked the whole affected region out. The splinter went, but some eye meat went with it. It worked. He's fine now. But that story gave me nightmares.

---

me too..........

I bought a first aid kit for my welding rig many years ago at a welding supply of all places. In the kit there was a little tool for plucking foreign objects out of your eyes.
One end of the tool was a loop of monofilament fishing line you used to flick at the offending particle to dislodge it so it could be flushed away. the other end was a stainless steel magnet not very strong but usually strong enough to lift any particle away from the surface that wasn't embedded.
Die grinders with burr files and milling machines have always been my nemesis. It seems that when wearing both safety glasses and a face shield is when I am most likely to get particles flung into my eyes.
Fortunately in my 55+ years of working around things that can get into my eyes I have only once been to an ER to have something removed.
the folded corner of a dollar bill does a great job of lifting and removing most objects for me and an eye wash cup with saline works wonders as well.
Be safe with your eyes your only have 2 of them and they are not replaceable

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Frank S

the folded corner of a dollar bill does a great job

---

That's a big nope from me. Money is insanely disgusting. My cokehead sister even stopped using using bills years ago because apparently putting them up your nose is a good way to get Hep-C. I read a study years ago and basically every bill they tested came back positive for feces. All the other communicable diseases aside, I don't want someone else's dookie in my in my eyes.