Go Immediately to the Eyewash Station – Don’t Waste A Second!
If a chemical splashes in your eyes, time is of the essence. GO immediately to the eyewash station located immediately to your left on entering the main lab. Ideally, someone will be with you who can assist you getting there. Please make a note of the location of all eyewash stations in the labs you will be working in.

Push the Lever to Activate the Unit
Push the lever all the way forward - located on the right side of the eyewash station (examine the cartoon picture on the left and the photo of our actual eyewash station in the Main Lab on the right). This will activate the system - the dust covers will pop off and the flushing fluid will begin to flow out from the faucet heads.

Begin to Flush
Get your eyes directly in the stream of the flushing fluid - Immediately!

Hold Your Eyes Open with Your Fingers
As noted, the eyewash unit in our lab is hands free; you do not have to hold the lever open. Once activated, the unit will stay on. Keep your eyes open by holding your eyelids apart with your fingers.

Roll Your Eyes
Gently roll your eyes from left to right and up and down to be sure that the fluid is flushing all of the areas of your eye.

Flush for a Full Fifteen Minutes
Continue Flushing your eyes for a full 15 minutes. The temperature of the fluid in the eyewash station will be between 60 and 100 degrees fahrenheit so that you will comfortably be able to continue flushing for the entire period of time. This is important because you want to fully dilute the chemical and wash it out of your eyes. Any time less than 15 minutes is NOT enough time to accomplish this.

Take Out Your Contacts
If you have contact lenses in your eyes, you can gently take them out while you are flushing. Don’t delay the flushing to take out your lenses but make sure that you take them out because they could trap the chemical in your eyes.

Seek Help
After you have flushed, immediately contact Dr. Daley or another supervisor (Danny, Dr. Malachoski, Dr. Clark, etc.) and let them know of the situation. Together you can fill out any necessary paperwork but more importantly, someone can assist you to go get medical attention. You should see a doctor to determine if anything more needs to be done for the preservation of your vision. Note: Ideally, your lab buddy already contacted someone right after they assisted you to the station and made sure you were ok flushing on your own.

Disclaimer: I took this material from the Select Safety Sales LLC webpage (www.selectsafetysales.com) as it is a decent overview of what to do. However, as they say, this material is provided as general information on the use of an eye wash station. I make no claim to the accuracy or completeness of the information as it may apply to an infinite amount of conditions and situations. It is the responsibility of the person or persons reading and using this information to refer to the instructions and information provided by the manufacturer in the product package before testing or using this product. Users of this information agree to hold Dr. Daley harmless from liability of any kind relating to the use of this information.