Eye protection

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What do you all do for eye protection? The cheapies provided by the hospital always fall off my face at awkward times (namely, when I most need to be looking down).

AJ

Originally Posted by Anka

What do you all do for eye protection? The cheapies provided by the hospital always fall off my face at awkward times (namely, when I most need to be looking down).

AJ

You can buy bands to hook onto the end of the earpieces of your glasses (kind of like those old ropes from the 80's, but more functional) that cinch in the back, securing your goggles/glasses in place. You can also use the masks with the shields, or fold the mask part up and tie it around the top of your head and let the shield hang down, as the shield tends to fog if you wear it how it is designed. I usually just wear my glasses unless I anticipate a particularly wet procedure.

I thought of buying something similiar to the ones we used in anatomy lab. Not the oversized chem lab goggles, but something more hard plastic that looks like regular glasses. I seem to fog up the ones that you "make" yourself in the OR. Also, I definitely fog up the shields.

1. Use a shield/mask combo provided by the hospital. Problem: they fog, and if you wear it AS it was designed the horrible shield reflects the glare of OR lights into your eyes while you stand under them holding the retractors. (Headache.) Or, the mask portion can be folded 4 times and the whole thing tied around the forehead like a head band - as a bonus feature, it collects the sweat if youre working on a burn case (or if youre just sweaty in general). Also, to reduce fogging pinch the nose band of your duckbill mask at a sharp angle so it can easily vent the steam between your eyes, insead of making the mask fit smoothly along your cheeks and nose.

2. Editors choice: Home Depot (or wherever) has lots of goggles for cheap! They have big ones that cover even the sides (unnecessary unless in a messy case) and they have sleeker goggles that look more like regular glasses. A little like gettinga clear pair of Oakleys for $4.

3. Buy actual Oakleys with clear lenses. They fit great, have rubber ear pieces, and dont slip off. Helpful tip: Get a strap for them so they cant fall off easily, and so they can hang off your neck instead of falling out of your pocket or getting left somewhere to be stolen.$$$

Good luck.

Hi there,
I do most of my cases in my loupes which come with the "croakie-type" headbands that hold them in place. If I am not wearing my loupes i.e. for laparoscopic cases, I wear the "Angel Frames" and loop the upper ties of my mask around the earpieces. Works fine and doesn't slip or fog up.
njbmd

I find it simplest to just wear the cheap glasses they provide and grab some of the clear minimally adherent tape from the gas guys and just tape the upper border of your mask=no fogging.

i have problems with this too, and what works for me is tearing (just a little bit) each corner of the sheild off the mask so its looser and hangs more away from your face. this solved the fogging problem.

I hate putting tape on my face - I feel like it damages my facial skin a little when I tear it off.

When I'm not doing a case that requires loupes, I wear a pair of wrap-around Smith sunglasses with clear lenses (sliders). Chums or Croakies are invaluable for keeping the things on. As for fogging, I use the masks with a built-in adhesive strip on the top.

The key to avoiding the fog with the combo mask shields is not to tie the lower tie too tight. This allows the team to vent from below instead of upwards where it will fog your shield.

www.safetyglassesusa.com has tons of safety glass styles. They average about $5-$6 per pair. At that price, you can order several different styles and figure out which ones you like best. If you lose or break a $5 pair of glasses, it's much less disheartening than losing your Gargoyles or Oakleys.

I made it through general surgery residency without ever wearing loupes, but I have 20/12 vision.

Eye protection is for unconfident surgeons. I just wear the mask sans eye-wear. Except on declots or carotids. Those ****ers are spitters.

BTW I was joking about the first part of previous post.

http://www.barrieronline.com/rxsafety_eye/index.php

Anybody ever use these Microlite glasses?

You have probably seen the radiation-blocking version on the Rads or Ortho folks, but the company makes a plain lens version as well.

They are a little pricey but seem worth it -- kind of in the same category as the Oakleys that everyone seems to rave about for whatever reason.
I hate cheap safety goggles, and the mask/shield combo also makes me want to vomit.

I hardly ever wear eye protection. For vascular cases that require it, I'll wear the loupes, but otherwise I go sans eyewear. That's probably not smart, but I'm allergic to the masks with the shields, and the goggles give me headaches.

I wear my loupes for tough cases, otherwise I use that orange mask with the built-in face shield. I don't wear glasses.

I just wear my loupes for everything.

I am so used to seeing things magnified that when I don't have them I feel like I am a mile away. When I don't need the magnification, I just look straight ahead through the plain lens (my loupes are angled pretty far down so I don't have to bend my neck much).

Originally Posted by JudoKing01

Eye protection is for unconfident surgeons. I just wear the mask sans eye-wear. Except on declots or carotids. Those ****ers are spitters.

Here in South Africa, we dont wear anything - just work on your reflexes for those splashes

Originally Posted by sarawilliams9

Googles are forms of protective eyewear that usually safe guard's your eyes. When your swimming Googles protect your eyes from water

Thanks for the information. I was trying to look up information on googles on Goggle.com but it wasn't very helpful.

Originally Posted by Anka

What do you all do for eye protection? The cheapies provided by the hospital always fall off my face at awkward times (namely, when I most need to be looking down).

AJ

http://www.safetyglassesusa.com/smitwesphanf.html

These S&W shooting googles are perfect. Crystal clear, full splash protection wrap-arounds that fit snugly on your head by the spring effect of the arms, but remain comfortable for prolonged use. They never fog on me (not sure if it is because they have good air flow, or whatever anti-fog technology they have put on the lenses). They are well made and stand up to a ton of abuse.

Originally Posted by Maybeknot

Thanks for the information. I was trying to look up information on googles on Goggle.com but it wasn't very helpful.

Try goggles on google.com.

As a non-surgeon (yet), why do surgeons have to wear glasses? What kind of stuff is flying out of the patient lol.

Originally Posted by Ronin786

As a non-surgeon (yet), why do surgeons have to wear glasses? What kind of stuff is flying out of the patient lol.

Anything that is inside the patient. Blood, guts, feces, pus.

Originally Posted by Ronin786

As a non-surgeon (yet), why do surgeons have to wear glasses? What kind of stuff is flying out of the patient lol.

Watch a total knee or total hip replacement online sometime.

As some one who has been splashed while wearing my regular glasses I've been looking for safety prescription eye wear (contacts are not preferred) of a high quality...

Does anyone have advice on prescription saftey glasses?

Sites like this one offer a selection of glasses that either have plastic that obstructs the exact portion of the lower visual field that I would be looking at to operate, or require wierd inserts...

I really want something like these that offer a good field of view with good coverage, but that dont have the $400 price tag of Oakleys. My optician claims those Lowes frames aren't "optical quality" and wouldn't accommodate a lens.

Originally Posted by Napoleown

As some one who has been splashed while wearing my regular glasses I've been looking for safety prescription eye wear (contacts are not preferred) of a high quality...

Does anyone have advice on prescription saftey glasses?

Sites like this one offer a selection of glasses that either have plastic that obstructs the exact portion of the lower visual field that I would be looking at to operate, or require wierd inserts...

I really want something like these that offer a good field of view with good coverage, but that dont have the $400 price tag of Oakleys. My optician claims those Lowes frames aren't "optical quality" and wouldn't accommodate a lens.

What kind of glasses do you own? I wear glasses that don't have great coverage and have had a couple very close calls, so I was planning on getting some hipster-esque large frames for better eye coverage.

Originally Posted by dienekes88

What kind of glasses do you own? I wear glasses that don't have great coverage and have had a couple very close calls, so I was planning on getting some hipster-esque large frames for better eye coverage.

I have the kind with half a frame on the top

Originally Posted by Napoleown

I have the kind with half a frame on the top

I've been cursed with perfect vision, so I don't have glasses to protect my eyes from blood and poo.

Instead, I alternate between the $5 safety glasses from Home Depot (last about 1 year) and $10 racquetball glasses from Dick's Sporting Goods (last about 2 years). The benefit of this approach is I can lose them and not hate myself.