Eye Problem

GTDjr

Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2020
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Location
Mills River, NC
Grill
Ironwood 650
I have had a Traeger for about 4 or 5 months. About 3 weeks ago I cleaned out my Ironwood 650. I clean my smoker after about every 12 to 15 hours of smoking. Among other things I took out the drip pan and vacuumed out the base and fire pot. There was a lot of ash. I also used some citrus grill spray to cut the grease along the sides. That night (a Sunday night), my left eye itched a little and i took a Zantac, assuming I had an allergy. The next morning, my left eye was burning like someone had shown sand it it. I could not see clearly to of it. I went to a Doc-In-A-Box, but those folks had no idea about what the problem was. That afternoon, I went to an eye doctor (N.B. I get the various eye profession names confused. This guy is the type who has an MD). He thought I had some sort of nonbacterial, non viral irritation. He prescribed some sort of ointment to put in my left eye. The next morning when I woke up, I could not see clearly out of my right eye. It itched and burned a little, but nothing like my left eye (which was somewhat improved from the previous day). I called the same eye doctor outfit that I had seen the day before and got an appointment to see another doc. It appeared to him that I probably had a viral or bacterial infection since it had migrated to my right eye. He prescribed some other ointment and told me to come back on the following Friday. By that time I was much better and was seeing well enough to drive. That day I saw the doc I had seen on the previous Monday afternoon. He told me that my eyes were improving so quickly that it was unlikely that I had a bacterial or viral infection. He could not explain the apparent migration from my left eye to my right eye.

As nearly as I can tell, my eyes have largely recovered. I cooked a pork butt this weekend, but when I cleaned my smoker, I used goggles (https://www.amazon.com/your-orders/...es=&returnUnitMappingId=&shipmentId=DxMf06hwl).

Have any of you had a similar issue?

Thanks.
 
No. But i do wear glasses.
 
Wow, that is really odd, I have been all over my grill with the shop vac, and do use the citrus spray as well. I wear gloves and eye glasses and have never had this issue. I would think that the citrus spray mist would be pretty irritating to the eyes but would expect more of an immediate issue if it got in your eye. You may have touched something else that day and transferred it to your eyes, that's easy enough as well. Good call going to an ophthalmologist (MD), as someone who has had torn retinas, don't ever wait if vision changes occur, seek help immediately!

So glad you are OK.
 
very strange indeed... but some people are allergic to things they have no idea they were.
There is a whole thread on a hunting forum I belong to about guys who cannot even touch the deer they just killed without using a HAZMAT suit... some of them needed hospitalization the first time they found out.
Deer Dander, just like a cat allergy

I would suggest after a cleaning with the citrus spray, (maybe change to a different cleaner that's also safe) that you use a cooking spray once over and wipe down everything you cleaned making sure you wipe the cooking spray totally OFF too.
 
I agree with RemE on going to the doctor, good call. You might try the Traeger spray, it works well...
 
very odd... I have had no issues and have had some pretty dirty Treager time... you may try to run it on high heat for 30 min (can you get the ironwood to 500?) turn off, cool down then try good old dawn soapy water. If you may possibly have a citrus reaction. Again, odd.. but I do use dawn/soap water as well. And with my new Treager I foil the heck out of everything.
 
I agree with RemE on going to the doctor, good call. You might try the Traeger spray, it works well...
Ditto on that, I use the Traeger spray when I can find it in stock at Ace. Works very well.
 
I have had good luck using "Dawn Powerwash Dish Spray". It really cuts the baked on grease..... FWIW
 
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You will probably never know the cause of your eye issue BUT “Common Things Happen Commonly” No doubt it was a scary/sobering experience for you!! Great news everything resolved! When using any type of cleaner be prepared to perform a self administered eye wash. You can use bottles of saline.. (eye contact solution) or if your in a bind you can run cold water from the tap into cupped hands making a sort of basin that you place your face/affected eye into while rapidly/continuously blinking your eyelids repeatedly. This will help dilute/remove the contaminate from your eye and from under the eyelid. There’s some caustic stuff/chemicals out there ash can most definitely burn your eye... Wood Ash is alkaline/caustic with a high pH level so you may have experienced a reaction to the chemical and the ash. Waiting to long (ride to the hospital) could result in irreversible damage. Strong PSA you provided! Glad everything worked out for ya! 👍
 
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