Disclaimer: I am working on seeing a doctor about my eye, soon.
On day my left guy felt really itchy, then it got really red, this happened while I was at home talking with a friend who came over. After that, every week there would be one day I would get a random pain in that eye, then I noticed that I had blurry vision in it. Using both eyes my vision is perfect, with my left eye only- my dominant eye when shooting- I have to have things closer or else small print gets blurry.
Now when shooting, I can feel my eye to have a slight pain and it gets blurry, if I blink it goes away, then I can continue. Once the pain starts, however, it stays.
I wear eye protection when shooting, my vision does not get worse throughout the few hours I shoot, but my eye hurts.
I went shooting today and my eye hurts still now, a few hours after, though I think it is from the bad headache I have.
Could the gases of the AR, I shoot left handed, be getting into my eye and hurting it?
Has anyone experienced this? I had no injuries to this eye.
Time off work, and my insurance is preventing a doctor visit. Also, I got told by one doctor that my eye problem is a routine exam, not a medical examine so it is not covered by my insurance.
Just my AR, yes. It has just happened recently in the past two range sessions.
Not the ammo, I have shot it before it, I also use the same lube I have had for a year.
And no, sometimes randomly I will get a pain in the left eye, but not really. Recently, it only hurts when I start shooting. It is not enough to make me stop, but it is there.
It may be sensitive to the gasses or overpressure coming out of the CH area. Get it looked at by an ophthalmologist ASAP. Assuming you get a pass on the eye tests, you might try the RTV mod on the CH to reduce gassing and blowback from that area.
I have to see a doctor, so he can determine what he thinks is wrong with me, then if I need an eye doctor it can be “coded,” a certain way so that my insurance will cover it.
Your doctor will examine your eye and say, “Yep, it’s beyond my experience as a General Practitioner to diagnose and treat – you need to see a specialist,” and the referral goes to your insurance.
Although mine was not triggered by shooting an AR, sounds like something I just experienced. I woke up three weeks ago on a Monday morning and my eye was a little red and hurt a tad. As I was driving to a job site it got progressively worse and by the time I got back to my office it was really bothering me. I thought it was pink eye, so I walked up the street to see a local optometrist. When he covered my right eye, the vision in my left eye was completely blurry and I couldn’t make out any letters on the chart. I don’t wear glasses and my right eye’s vision was completely fine. He put some dyed drops in my eyes, examined me with a slit lamp and diagnosed it as Thygeson’s Superficial Punctate Keratitis. He prescribed me some steroid eye drops to use for two weeks and asked me to come back to see him every three days. I don’t have vision insurance but it only cost me $65 for the exam (the follow up visits were no charge) and it’s cleared up now.
Now, this may or may not be what’s going on with your eye, but I just thought I’d share since it just happened to me. Nothing to freak out about, just suggest you get it looked at. Here’s a link that’ll explain it better than I can:
My eye problem was not resulted from shooting, but I just now recently my eye has been sensitive when shooting now. It could have been totally random the first time, and this last time may have been triggered by a headache, I am not sure. I may go shooting this weekend and I will see.
Since I am not yet 21, I am still covered under my dads insurance on Tricare. So, I am waiting for my diss-enrollment from Prime to kick in so I can be covered under Standard- which seems to suck- since I move from the West region to the North region.
I am guessing Friday, or Monday of next week is when I will be seen by the eye specialist that my insurance covers. (That was a nightmare to get settled.)
Take care of your eyes. You are issued only two of them at birth. Prioritizing the treatment of your condition in your budget is important.
Shooting your AR may not be causing the issue, it may be aggravating an issue caused by something else.
Take notes about when and where your condition worsens. What activities you are engaging in and what changes you notice will help your physician to identify the issue.
It may not be related, but, I had a friend with similar symptoms. Turns out he had a glass or metal fragment lodged in his eyeball, I can’t remember which it was.
Well if I was in your shoes I would be doing what others have said and get it checked by an eye doc. I have a friend who participated in many, many years of competitive long range rifle shooting, and continues to shoot to this day. Granted he is much older than you, but he also began experiencing pain and blurred vision when shooting. After getting his eyes checked they found he was getting a detached retina from the recoil of high caliber bolt guns. Like I said, he still shoots, but he says .308 and up is a danger zone. He has to be careful or it could cost him big.
I hope it is not a severe permanent condition. I am sure working in a foundry and deburring metal does not help my eye either, though it never really bothers me at work.
seeing as it ONLY happens when shooting your AR i would bet it is a gas issue. try this… go by a motorcycle shop and buy some cheap ridin glasses. they are padded around the edges to block air from irritating your eyes when you ride. go shooting and see if you still have a problem.
i had a certain set of eyeglasses that would practically deflect the gas escaping my charging handle on my sbr directly into my eye. and i ended up with a similar problem switched over to my sunglasses (had a tighter fit to my face blocking the gas and the problem went away. i’ve shot thousands of rounds through my ar’s with no gas problems but THAT mix of my mk18 with those glasses irritated the hell out of my eyes. i would still check with eye doc for safe measure though
