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Eye check-up and spectacles for patients from Dodamarg: spraying, lime and eye safety

In Dodamarg's areca and cashew gardens, the monsoon brings spraying, and spraying brings a danger many people underestimate: lime and copper mixtures, weedkillers and pesticides splashing into the eyes. This page covers eye safety on the plantation, and how to plan an eye check-up and new spectacles from Dodamarg. ReNew Vision Eye Hospital is in Vasco, Goa, not in Dodamarg: 2nd floor, Pai Hospital building, Vaddem Merces Road, Vaddem, Vasco da Gama.

Why lime in the eye is an emergency

Slaked lime (chuna), used in spray mixtures and for whitewashing, is strongly alkaline. Alkalis keep soaking into the eye after the splash, and can damage the cornea, the clear front window of the eye, within minutes. What you do in the first minutes matters most:

1. Rinse at once with plenty of clean water: a tap, a bucket or a bottle, for at least 15 to 20 minutes. Hold the lids open and roll the eye.
2. Pick out any visible lumps of lime gently from the lids with a clean, wet cloth corner, then keep rinsing.
3. Do not put oil, milk, ghee or any home remedy in the eye.
4. Then come in, or go to the nearest hospital if that is much closer. Call 072489 88039 on the way; emergency eye care is available 24 hours.

Pesticides, weedkillers and diesel splashes need the same long rinse. Bring the container or its label. Read what to do first in an eye emergency.

Protecting your eyes while spraying

• Wear wrap-around safety goggles, not ordinary spectacles, when mixing or spraying; spray drifts in from the side.
• Mix with your back to the wind, and keep the nozzle below face level.
• Keep a bucket or bottle of clean water nearby for rinsing.
• Wash your hands before touching your eyes or putting in contact lenses.

The everyday check-up

For blurred distance vision, difficulty reading, headaches or a check after 40, a complete check-up covers the spectacle power, the eye pressure and an examination of the lens and retina, usually after drops. If you have diabetes or high BP, have the retina checked at least once a year. More on the complete eye check-up and on how often to have your eyes checked.

Spectacles that cope with farm life

The Vision Correction Centre is in the same building. For outdoor work, ask about scratch-resistant lenses, a sturdy frame, and safety goggles that can be worn over spectacles. Monsoon humidity fogs lenses and loosens screws; see caring for spectacles in humid weather. Ask when your spectacles will be ready, so the collection trip can be planned.

Getting to Vasco from Dodamarg

By car, about 60 km: into Goa on the Bicholim side, past Mulgao and Tivim to Mapusa, then NH 66 through Porvorim and Panjim, over the new Zuari bridge to Cortalim, and the Vasco road (NH 366). Allow about an hour and a half. ST buses run from Dodamarg to Panjim and to Thivim station; from Panjim, KTC shuttles go to Vasco. We can collect you from your home and drop you back, at zero cost to the patient; call 072489 88039. See coming from another town.

Planning the visit

• The Eye OPD runs Monday to Saturday, 4 pm to 7 pm, Friday included; Sunday OPD is closed.
• Leave Dodamarg by about 2 pm if drops may be used.
• After drops, vision is blurred for a few hours, so do not ride or drive back.
• Bring your spectacles, old prescriptions, medicine strips and any sugar or BP reports.

Questions patients ask

Lime splashed into my eye while spraying. What should I do first?

Rinse at once with plenty of clean water for at least 15 to 20 minutes, holding the lids open. Do not use oil or milk. Then come in, or go to the nearest hospital; emergency eye care is available 24 hours.

Are ordinary spectacles enough protection when spraying?

No. Spray and splashes come in from the sides. Wear wrap-around safety goggles; some can be worn over spectacles.

How do I reach ReNew Vision from Dodamarg?

By car, about 60 km via Tivim, Mapusa and Panjim, roughly an hour and a half. By bus, take an ST bus to Panjim and a KTC shuttle to Vasco. We can also collect you from your home.

Can I get spectacles made on the same visit?

Usually the test and the choice of frames happen on the same visit, at the Vision Correction Centre in the same building. Ask when they will be ready.

Is ReNew Vision in Dodamarg?

No. ReNew Vision Eye Hospital is only in Vaddem, Vasco da Gama, Goa, about 60 km from Dodamarg.

This page is general eye-health information, not personal medical advice. Your eye doctor advises you after examining your eyes.