Over the years I have heard of people putting all kinds of
things in their eyes, usually by mistake. Stuff people put in their eyes on
purpose that shouldn’t be there, is usually someone else’s contact lenses. This
is like taking someone else’s heart medication and we will talk about this in
another blog.

Today we will discuss things put in the eye by accident. By
far the most common mistake is to put ear drops in eyes, this is because
bottles of ear drops and eye drops can look alike and may be located next to
each other.

So, DON’T STORE EAR DROPS NEAR EYE DROPS! For that matter
keep all eye “stuff” (contact lens solutions, allergy drops,
re-wetting drops etc) in their own space and don’t store them near other
similar products.

Another problem is that many ear medicines use an eyedropper
which can lead to confusion.

Another tip to help, is to keep all drops in their original
cartons, a lot of drops have a picture of either an eye or an ear to remind you
what they are for.

Also, use your eye drops and ear drops at different times.

Before using any drop, take time out to confirm that you are
using the correct bottle.

If you do happen to use ear drops in your eyes, you will
know it because it will sting and burn. Later, you may notice redness, swelling
and blurred vision. In most cases, the injury to the eyes is temporary.

Flush the eyes with water or saline and seek emergency
treatment if relief is not immediate.

Now the bigger worry is what if you put super glue in your
eye? This is much more serious and you need to seek medical attention, like an
emergency room or your eye doctor.

Keep glue on you work bench and NO WHERE NEAR ANY
MEDICATION!