As a contact lense wearer, I am just wondering if any fellow contact wears have any comments/precautions when working around their railroads, ie. with glues, paints, etc. I’m leaning towards always taking my contacts out before working on my railroad … but I like the crispness and clearity of my contacts versus my glasses.
Again any comments would be appreciated.
Thanks,
David
I wear glasses, not contacts, but if I did, my main concern would be particles etc. Safety glasses are the answer to that.
You should have a pretty good idea whether fumes bother you from the rest of life’s travels.
Not a contact wearer (I can’t stand the thought of anything touching my eyeballs!) however, I would keep in mind that CA type glues bond skin (and presumable eyeballs, eyelids and anything contained therein) instantly!
[2c]
-George
I am a contact lenses wearer, and I have not noticed too many differences when working on hobby related projects. You should take some precautions anyways even if you are not a wearer. I always work with strong glues in a well ventilated area. If any kind of particulate is involved (resin, wood, etc.), I will usually wear safety goggles and/or work with wet sand paper.
The only times I have any irritation from my lenses is when there is a lot of pollen in the air or when my allergies really act up.
I wear contacts. I also wear reading glasses over them for close up work (I wear contacts for far vision and reading glasses for close because the bifocal type contacts and mono vision which is one eye for close and one for far didn’t work for me and I didn’t want to go back to glasses all the time). I use safety glasses when appropriate. I don’t take any more precautions then someone who doesn’t wear contacts, just let common sense rule.
The only danger specific to contact wearers I’ve found from anything we use in model railroading was the ACC fumes that are sometimes used at crime scenes to raise fingerprints. Since I retired and hung up the badge I don’t have to worry about it because I’m not aware of any modeling technique that is similar.
Just use the same common sense precautions about keeping things away from your eyes that anyone else would and you should be fine.
Jeff
David,
I’ve worn contacts since I was 14 years old (32 years now, not that I’m counting). The only activity in which I’ve found it advisable not to wear contacts is water sports.
You need take no extra precautions with contact lenses. Common sense prevails. If you don’t want something in your eye with contacts on, you don’t want it in your eye without them on either. I’ve never had any trouble with paint or glue fumes making my contacts unbearable. You should be working in a well ventilated area anyway. Similarly, if you’re doing anything that would generate small particles (heavy sanding, grinding, etc.) safety glasses are a must (and you can wear real ones, not the goggles that fit over your glasses). Maybe your eyes will be a little more sensitive than the non-contact lens wearer, but there really is no difference in eye protection requirements between us and those with normal vision.
Thanks guys for all the quick answers.
My main concern is not necessarily getting something in my eye during the project, but are there special precautions and washing required to clean off my hands and fingers before taking my lenses out later … maybe I have a little OCD about still having glue on my fingers and then putting that in my eyes.
I really don’t like to even paint without gloves … maybe I just be a bit silly. I just value my sight. LOL.
Thanks again,
David
I’ve had contacts for nearly 4 years (got them just after I turned 12 and I’ll be 16 in June) and never had a problem.
I’ve worn contacts for over twenty years and never had a problem.Use common sense,safety glasses when needed.I have also worked in a body shop type place for fifteen years and have never been bothered by dust or fumes.
lbeamlicker working in a body shop do you wash you hands with anything special before taking you lenses out or just the normal soap and water?
Thanks,
As a former contact lens wearer, I never had any problems working on the model railroad. I ALWAYS wear eye protection with the appropriate projects where “flying” pieces of metal could strike my eyes. About 4 years ago, I got the laser eye surgery and loved it. I still wear eye protection. Remember to protect your lungs with painting projects. By the way, I am an Emergency Medicine physician and see a lot of eye injuries.
I’ve been told that it depends upon the type of contact lens you wear. The soft ones that are more oxygen permeable tend to absorb and hold in airborne contaminates. So I imagine that strong fumes which normally bother your eyes would irritate them longer because the lens absorb and hold the contaminates on your eye longer.
Actually, the polycarbonates of the lenses restrict the transmission of gasses through the lens. I have to wear RGP (rigid gas permeable) lenses to correct keratoconis (a severe deformity of the cornea), which reduce the flow of air to the covered part of the eye by about 40%. Soft lenses and extended wear lenses are even better. However, they don’t retain contaminants, they simply don’t pass through.
I have found that this makes my eyes LESS sensitive to fumes. For instance, I can cut an onion without my eyes tearing up, whereas I never could before wearing contacts.
As far as hand care goes, common sense prevails. If you wouldn’t stick it in your eye normally, you shouldn’t stick it in your eye with contacts either. If my hands are really contaminated with paint, grease, oil or glue residue, I’ll give them a quick scrub with a pumice-based hand cleanser (I like Gojo orange), followed by a wash with ordinary hand soap (without lotions or sanitizers, which can gunk up your lenses). Otherwise, just hand soap is good enough. If it won’t come off with ordinary hand soap, it’s not going to come off when you handle your lenses, either.
My contacts are two week disposable,I just wash my hands with normal hand soap.Dust,fumes or glue have never been an issue.Good advice from other posters regarding safety glasses.