dry eyes - wrong forum?

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Luiza
Posts: 81
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2003 4:50 pm
Location: Rio de Janeiro / Brazil

dry eyes - wrong forum?

Post by Luiza »

Hi all
I went today to my oculist, cause I am felling my eyes very dry. I use contact lens, so I thought that they were guilty...
The doctor said that my problem is the heat of the kiln - I LOVE to look inside the kilns... He said I´ve damaged my eyes, and I´ll have to use wet drops forever...
Is it possible?
Luiza
PS : I don´t know witch forum is the right to this issue - sorry if I´m wrong.
Kitty
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Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2003 4:12 pm
Location: Gig Harbor, WA

Post by Kitty »

i think it would be a good idea to go see an opthamalogist. you need to talk to an MD about this, not just an oculist. first of all, the oculist might be wrong, and second, if there is any damage, that should be evaluated by an MD who specializes in the eye. there could be various reasons for dry eyes, unrelated to looking in the kiln.

also, it matters what kind of eye drops you're putting in your eyes, especially if you're doing it a lot. you dont want to over-medicate your eyes with drops that have certain ingredients. good luck -- let us know what you learn about this.
Amy on Salt Spring
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Post by Amy on Salt Spring »

Do you wear something when you peek in?? You should always be protecting your eyes when you look in the kiln!! Long term exposure can lead to lots of problems.
Amy
Chip
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Post by Chip »

Image
Chip
Micah 6.8
Luiza
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Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2003 4:50 pm
Location: Rio de Janeiro / Brazil

Post by Luiza »

Kitty wrote:i think it would be a good idea to go see an opthamalogist. you need to talk to an MD about this, not just an oculist.
Sorry, its my bad english. I went to an opthalmologist.
Luiza
Posts: 81
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2003 4:50 pm
Location: Rio de Janeiro / Brazil

Post by Luiza »

Amy on Salt Spring wrote:Do you wear something when you peek in?? You should always be protecting your eyes when you look in the kiln!! Long term exposure can lead to lots of problems.
Amy
Well Amy, sometimes I do use the glasses, and somentimes I don´t. We never believe in beeing carefull till problem hapens...
Geri Comstock
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Post by Geri Comstock »

Luiza -

I wore contact lenses when i was in my early 30's, before I started doing glass work. Even though I had the soft, extended wear lenses and worked in an office environment, after a couple of years I had problems with eye irritation. Finally, I stopped wearing contact lenses and started wearing glasses again in my late 30's. My eyes no longer feel dry and irritated. It could be that you have this problem, too.

I've always wondered if it was a good idea to wear contact lenses when doing glass work. Even if you wear goggles when cold working, glass dust in the air must be getting in your eyes and on your contact lenses when you take the goggles off. Are you using a HEPA air filtering system in your studio to keep the dust down?

I'm certainly not a doctor, but maybe you should stop wearing contact lenses for a while to see if the problem goes away.

And, for the sake of your eyes, it's a good idea to stop looking in the kiln all the time. LOL. The glass will fuse or slump whether or not you peek!

Good luck!

Geri
Kitty
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Post by Kitty »

Luiza, i agree with Geri that it might be a good idea to stop wearing your contacts for awhile. I only wear my contacts in the evening these days. When I'm working in the studio, which is every day, it's just easier to wear glasses.

No more peeking into the kiln without goggles. You can get cataracts and do other kinds of permanent damage. The damage is cumulative, and it is permanent. Treat this as your would poison. It's a serious matter.
Luiza
Posts: 81
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2003 4:50 pm
Location: Rio de Janeiro / Brazil

Post by Luiza »

I´d like to thank you all - you care, and that is the most important thing.
I´ll take the advice, and will use that DISGUSTING glasses for some time :cry:
And, of course, I´ll try to remember to always use the goggles...
Geri, I doubt that the glass will slump or fuse if I don´t peek :D Here in Brazil we use to say that what what fattens the horse are the owners eyes :lol:
Thanks again
Luiza
Geri Comstock
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Post by Geri Comstock »

Luiza wrote: Geri, I doubt that the glass will slump or fuse if I don´t peek :D Here in Brazil we use to say that what what fattens the horse are the owners eyes :lol:
Thanks again
Luiza
LOL. Here in the US we have a saying, "A watched pot never boils". Maybe its correlary for glass artists is "A watched kiln never fuses."

Do take care of your eyes. They're the most important thing we have as artists.

Geri
Haydo
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Post by Haydo »

I found out what a pratos is, very nice. Your english is better than my Portuguese at present. I noticed that a lot of your work is sagged/slumped where the temperatures aren't very high. I use good quality lampworking glasses at these lower temps so I can actually see what's going on and the darker lenses when fusing/high-melting.

-Haydo
Life is like a raft, so be like a rat!...Challenging being a captain type rat though, going down with each ship and all!!
Luiza
Posts: 81
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2003 4:50 pm
Location: Rio de Janeiro / Brazil

Post by Luiza »

Haydo wrote:I found out what a pratos is, very nice. Your english is better than my Portuguese at present. I noticed that a lot of your work is sagged/slumped where the temperatures aren't very high. I use good quality lampworking glasses at these lower temps so I can actually see what's going on and the darker lenses when fusing/high-melting.

-Haydo
Thanks Haydo, you´re very kind :D
Actually, my home page is almost two years old - what a shame! :oops:
I don´t have a digital camera yet, and I am too lazy to take pictures...
My work is much better now, but I still work only with float - at that time my glass had litlle shine, and the pieces were naif.
I hope I´ll have a new site before christmas, if santa send my camera soon...(sometimes he sents the gifts earlier, you know, he is a very understandable old man :D )
Warm hug from Brazil
Luiza
Greg Rawls
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Post by Greg Rawls »

I have information about infrared radiation (which might be the cause of your dry eyes) on my web site. Also some advice on what type of lens to wear.

http://www.gregorieglass.com

Greg
Certified Industrial Hygienist
Greg
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