When I was thirteen, I burned my cornea with a curling iron. (No, I wasn’t trying to curl my eyelashes.) I was attempting that 70s flip thing, always striving toward Farrah or whoever created that look (and thereby dominated our dawning awareness of having to look a certain way). I curled the hair near my face, and then opened the hot flipper thingy (controlled by what is apparently called something like a “curl release button”). My eyes open, waiting for Farrah to magically emerge, the hot flipper thingy touched my cornea. I went to school, and my eye began to throb, so I guess someone called my mom, and we went to the eye doctor, who put some ointment in my eye. I remember it was winter, and how the sunshine reflected from the snow, that blinding brightness. (My cornea healed; my vision was soon fine, etc.)
The funny thing (to me) was that when I saw this caution note in the curling iron I bought last week to trick myself out for a 70s-themed adult prom, I thought, “hmm…how many people seeing this notice have actually burned their eyes with curling irons?”
I’m not sure how to end this blog post; I have nothing profound to say except maybe that vanity can be dangerous. And the human body can heal.
Rebecca Kuder 
“Vanity working on a weak head, produces every sort of mischief.” – Jane Austen
Seems fitting somehow.
If only I had known that when I was a kid! Thanks for this–just what I needed today.
I scratched my eye on my last day of a girlfriend Hawaii trip and spent the day in the ER. What was I doing? Trying to show my best friend of twenty years how I no longer have defined eyelids (like the kind you could put eye shadow on, for instance) because I now just have folded over extra-skin.
Oh, the days of youth and curling irons!
Kristin, I’m laughing, but I’m also hurting (ouch!)
Yep. I burned my eye with a curling iron. Worst pain ever and I’ve had two kids and a gall bladder issue !!
:( Good to have survived it!