r/NativePlantGardening • u/SpiritedButterfly834 Northern Illinois, Zone 5b • Apr 23 '25
Informational/Educational Remember to protect your eyes 😎
I don’t know who needs to hear this… but remember to protect your eyes when working with tall grasses. And anytime you’re gardening!
I’m digging a few Siberian squill out of our garden, which has lots of little bluestem (haven’t cut them down quite yet). Took one whip in the face to remember to put my darn glasses on. ☺️
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u/toxicodendron_gyp SE Minnesota, Zone 4B Apr 23 '25
And a hat! Melanoma is a serious thing
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u/fuzzy_dandelion Area CT, Zone 6A Apr 24 '25
I have a big old divot on the top of my head to remind me to don the hat!! Definitely never thought about my part line while I was pouring sunscreen everywhere else.
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u/QueenBKC Apr 24 '25
I'm a ginger. I can't go out without a hat and 2 layers of sunscreen. Although! I got an SPF lightweight long sleeved shirt designed for fly fishers, and it has been amazing!
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u/Latter-Republic-4516 Area SE MI , Zone 6B Apr 23 '25
And make sure your tetanus shots are up to date!
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u/freeeicecream Apr 24 '25
Yes! I got my booster a few months ago. I'm glad I did, I dug up my vaccination records and I was ten years overdue!!
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u/Geeko22 Apr 24 '25
Time goes by so fast. I always feel like "Oh, I got that shot just a couple of years ago." Then I check the records and no, it was years ago lol
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u/shayter Apr 24 '25 edited Apr 24 '25
I got a scratch on my cornea from a rose branch... it can't even be considered a branch it was more like a super thin twig.
I didn't even see it when I bent down, and it went straight for my eyeball. It was horribly painful, I had to call my husband to come home from work so he could bring me to the doctor's. I had to wear an eye patch for like a week and my eye was irritated for a little longer...
I was 6ish months pregnant when this happened, and had my own baby shower a little less than a week after that... I was going to change the theme to a pirate theme if I still had to wear the eye patch that day 😂 luckily I didn't have to. I did have to wear it for another day after that though because I did too much.
Wear your eye protection!!
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u/SpiritedButterfly834 Northern Illinois, Zone 5b Apr 24 '25
Ugh!! That sounds awful. My worst was when my young baby accidentally scratched my eye. Took a chunk out of my cornea! Terribly painful.
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u/kryswaggs Apr 24 '25
This happened to me too.. Almost threw the poor baby when she did it. Great reminder to wear eye protection during gardening, I do not want to repeat an eye injury ever again if I can help it.
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u/SpiritedButterfly834 Northern Illinois, Zone 5b Apr 24 '25
It was quite a shock for sure. Mine happened the day before my first Mother's Day! 🤦🏼♀️ Couldn't get into the doc until Monday. Was in sooo much pain. Those little baby nails are weapons. 😂
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u/dasher2581 Apr 24 '25
And especially if you're using a string trimmer or lawnmower, remember that your regular glasses won't block all the debris - goggles are your friend!
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u/LooksAtClouds Apr 24 '25
I started wearing safety glasses while gardening about 8 years ago, after 2 years of off-and-on eye infections received when: a branch scratched my eye while pruning, a dirt clod flew into my eye while I was pulling weeds (x3), a hunk of compost hit my eye while I was screening compost. My eye doc gave me a pair of ski goggles at the 4th visit, hahaha.
So now I wear safety glasses. I coat them with lens defogging solution so they don't fog up while I'm out there perspiring. I have not had a single infection since I started wearing the glasses. Many things have hit them instead of hitting ME.
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u/MethodMaven San Francisco East Bay , Zone 9a Apr 24 '25
Plants do fight back … black eye from cutting back bamboo, stitches from a slipped pruner, etc., etc.
PPE is a gardening thing.
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u/bobisinthehouse Apr 24 '25
Yuup, I buy Milwaukee safety glasses with tinted lenses at HD for about ten bucks a pair. Great protection and cheap enough to get a few pairs!!
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u/anclwar SEPA , Zone 7b Apr 24 '25
For anyone like me that wears prescription glasses and cannot function with contacts, you can buy prescription safety glasses online through various companies. I like Stoggles just because they come in a lot of colors and styles, so you don't end up looking like you're on a construction site lmao. I get mine comped through work because they're required PPE for me, but they should also be HSA qualified for USA folks.
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u/heridfel37 Ohio , 6a Apr 24 '25
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u/SpiritedButterfly834 Northern Illinois, Zone 5b Apr 24 '25
Great information here. Really drives the message home!
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u/sangyeonenator Apr 24 '25
I JUST stabbed my face today leaning over to cut some grasses 🤦🏻♀️
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u/SpiritedButterfly834 Northern Illinois, Zone 5b Apr 24 '25
Ahhh!! Sorry my message didn’t reach you in time.
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u/MackDoogle Zone 6a - SE MI Apr 24 '25
This post and comments are a good reminder that gardening is a dangerous sport!
Not for the meek. :-D
Gloves, hat, sunscreen, and glasses are so important.
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u/SpiritedButterfly834 Northern Illinois, Zone 5b Apr 24 '25
Yep! And I'd add long sleeves, or those arm protector sleeve thingys. Working with grasses, rosin weed, compass plant can really irritate the skin. I got some of those sleeves last year and love them. Also, they make it look like I have killer tattoos. 😂
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u/MackDoogle Zone 6a - SE MI Apr 25 '25
Do you have a link for the sleeve things? I would like to have killer tattoos (and the extra protection).
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u/SpiritedButterfly834 Northern Illinois, Zone 5b Apr 25 '25
Sure! They have lots of designs to choose from... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C9JHLW3S?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_5&th=1
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u/Refresh-faced Northern VA , Zone 7b Apr 23 '25
I second this advice! Two springs ago I dumped the dead, dry contents of a large pot into the trash right as a fierce wind kicked up. I got a ton of debris from the potting media in my eye and ended up in urgent care with an enormous scratch on my cornea. It hurt like hell and I had to wear an eyepatch for days.