Posted By holmezy
Hi All,

I have an employee who developes an "itchy eye" when he opens crates from a certain part of the world. Its only the one eye, the attack starts within 24hrs of opening box, are extremely painful and irritating, and last for about 48hrs.

Could anyone advise me on who to call to determine what is causing the problem?

Holmezy

Posted By holmezy

Its definately a health issue and may become a "claim" issue so I was asking if anyone could point me in the direction of an occy hygienist (or similar) to come and help me determine what is making this chaps eye itch? My occy health provider has suggested the HSL, just wanted other options.
I know a bit about a lot of subjects, but not alot about itchy eyes. I do not feel competent to carry out tests etc to rule out or confirm sensitisers, to buy the full test equipment would be expensive for this "one off", thought it might be economical to pay someone to help me?

I have a suspicion of what might be the problem, but its not clear, and there may be other sensitisers present so its a cry for help realy!

Holmezy

Posted By Adrian Watson
Holmezy,

It is not an allergy; you don't have a different immune system in each eye!

The person probably has different tear film thicknesses on each eye. This would make one eye more susceptible than the other to irritation.

The type of irritant could be a variety of things; at first glance it is possibly wood dust from the packing cases. However, it could be many other things including packing materials or contaminants. It is therefore hard to be definitive.

This would fall under COSHH and is a strict liability issue. Get the person to see an ophthalmologist or an optician.

Regards Adrian