Thaindian News

October 9, 2010 (Pen Men at Work): A woman from Arizona experienced a strange sort of adventure yesterday when she found her eyes shut firmly. The resident of Glendale had had a cataract surgery last year but still had to continue with her eye drops which were almost half a dozen in number.

She reached out for a bottle of her eye drops finding an identical bottle of super glue instead. KSAZ-TV reports that Irmgard Holm, the woman in question then experienced a burning sensation in her eyes which made her realize her mistake. She tried to wash off the glue with water immediately but was unable to do so as the superglue stuck fast, true to its name.

Holm had to be taken to the hospital where the attendants cut the hardened glue away. She was able to see once again when her eyes were prised open after the glue was removed completely. The doctors then bathed her eyes carefully in order to prevent any kind of major damage.

Surprisingly a case documented almost thirty years ago bears a striking similarity with the super glue and eye drop case that occurred this week. A 1984 study reported the hazards of administering super glue erroneously instead of an eye medication on account of both of them being packaged in an identical manner. Another study published in the Annals of ophthalmology in the year 2000 also warned of optical injury that may be caused due to a case of mistaken identity. A separate study conducted by the British in 2005 found the dangers continuing to persist despite the warnings given more than 20 years earlier.