[StillTryingForTheTop]

Just wondering, does anyone suffer from sore eyes due to getting climbing chalk in them?

Earlier this year I had very bad eye ulcers due to infected scratches on my eyeballs, not very nice at all.  At the moment they are irritated again and I am trying to work out why.

One possible thought that is in my mind is getting climbing chalk in them, either from the general amount of dust in the bouldering room, or the occasional point where you look up as the climber you are belaying is either chalking up or brushing a hold...

[tomtom]

Bouldering walls/rooms normally have really bad air quality IMHO... I'm glad I'm not asthmatic - god knows what its like if you suffer from that. I generally find climbing chalk pretty innocuous as an irritant - but I dont stick it in my eyes!! Some chalk brands put other things in too - which might prove an irritatant... tried Liquid chalk?

[Nibile]

I think that it could also be the simple dust in the air, regardless of chalk. Generally there are lots of dust piled up behind the wall, in the small cracks of the wood and in corners and so on.
Maybe try using some sterile liquid for contacts to keep the eyes hydrated?

[rich d]

What did you do to scratch your eye's in the first place Gary? Are you wearing contact lenses at the moment? Rich

[Drew]

I'd say it's not a common problem. Is there anything else it could be?

Do you/your mates use an excessive amount of chalk? Do you climb in a particularly small room?
I use more chalk than most, and sometime climb in my mate's garage (fan is usually on for cooling reasons).

[StillTryingForTheTop]

Don't wear contacts, and I am not sure what scratched my eyes in the first place, hence wondering if it was the chalk that could be doing it.

It could be that it is something completely different, maybe something the air at work, or maybe just bad luck that it is happening twice in one year.

Not had it happen before and the two things that have changed in the last couple of years is a) I have started climbing and b) I changed job, so I am just wondering if it is in relation to one of those things

if it is not a common problem then I will see if they have been doing anything unusual at work in the last couple of weeks
Gary

[Paul T]

Do you work with any form of chemical - I used to suffer from paraffin fumes, and other solvents definitely affect my eyes.

[StillTryingForTheTop]

No, its a herbs / peppers / spices place, so they are always grinding stuff which I thought could be a potential irritant

Checked with the planning dept, nothing unusual done in the last few weeks though, so guessing it is nothing from work.

Will just allow the eye drops to work, and then wash my eyes with some sort of optrex type solution each night.

[rich d]

Might be worth just getting your eyes checked again - just to make sure you're not getting a recurrence of the ulcers. Unless you're putting your head in the chalk bag or really rubbing your eyes with chalky fingers climbing really shouldn't be a problem. Try Blink drops, it's what we mostly use at work for patients after laser surgery as well as for contact lens wearers with dry eye. Your work sounds like a more likely source of irritation, than the climbing.

[StillTryingForTheTop]

Will get them checked out if they don't get any better after this weekend, only been putting drops in since Monday night so will give them a chance to work.

Will give those blink drops a try, cheers

Might be worth just getting your eyes checked again - just to make sure you're not getting a recurrence of the ulcers. Unless you're putting your head in the chalk bag or really rubbing your eyes with chalky fingers climbing really shouldn't be a problem. Try Blink drops, it's what we mostly use at work for patients after laser surgery as well as for contact lens wearers with dry eye. Your work sounds like a more likely source of irritation, than the climbing.