# Has anyone cut their eye while shaving, if so what happened
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-cut-their-eye-while-shaving-if-so-what-happened/676036
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [December 11, 2013, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-cut-their-eye-while-shaving-if-so-what-happened/676036 "2013-12-11T01:47:12Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2013, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-cut-their-eye-while-shaving-if-so-what-happened/676036/1 "2013-12-11T01:47:12Z")
When I shave, esp if I am in a hurry I can get nervous because I realize while shaving the sides of my face in an up to down motion, if I put the blade an inch or two higher by accident I could scrape it across my eye. I’m guessing some people have done that by accident at least once but I am not finding anything online.
If so, what is the outcome? Would it just heal up or would you have permanent disability?
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### Author:  [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2013, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-cut-their-eye-while-shaving-if-so-what-happened/676036/2 "2013-12-11T02:47:36Z")
_[Un Chien Andalou.](http://vimeo.com/18540575)_
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### Author:  [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2013, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-cut-their-eye-while-shaving-if-so-what-happened/676036/3 "2013-12-11T03:27:23Z")
You’d have to hold your eye open.
Or star in the next “Insanely Clumsy Consumer” commercial.
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### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2013, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-cut-their-eye-while-shaving-if-so-what-happened/676036/4 "2013-12-11T03:35:49Z")
I never shave higher than my cheekbone. That’s where my beard stops. I have nicked my earlobe a few times. Stings too. My hair on my cheek grows right up next to the earlobe.
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### Author:  [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2013, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-cut-their-eye-while-shaving-if-so-what-happened/676036/5 "2013-12-11T03:43:01Z")
> [@aceplace57](#):
>
> I never shave higher than my cheekbone. That’s where my beard stops. I have nicked my earlobe a few times. Stings too. My hair on my cheek grows right up next to the earlobe.
Unless you were literally spastic, on drugs or had a similar issue that gave you no fine motor control I’m not sure how you could do that. The eye is some distance from your cheekbone. It would be like shoving the head of your toothbrush up your nostril by accident. It would take some work.
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### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2013, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-cut-their-eye-while-shaving-if-so-what-happened/676036/6 "2013-12-11T03:46:08Z")
I was saying that I never had any concerns about my eye. There’s no way a razor goes anywhere near it.
The earlobe however is right in the way.
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### Author:  [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2013, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-cut-their-eye-while-shaving-if-so-what-happened/676036/7 "2013-12-11T03:50:17Z")
I’ve cut my nose a couple of times while trying to get up under it to get the whiskers just below my nostrils.
But my eye? Not even close. Not sure exactly what would happen- I imagine if it was a really shallow cut, it would heal much like any other eyeball scrape.
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### Author:  [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2013, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-cut-their-eye-while-shaving-if-so-what-happened/676036/8 "2013-12-11T03:51:13Z")
it isn’t hard to abrade your eye with paper, tooth brushes, bunches of things. eyes can heal quickly if not injured badly.
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### Author:  [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2013, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-cut-their-eye-while-shaving-if-so-what-happened/676036/9 "2013-12-11T04:09:35Z")
> [@johnpost](#):
>
> it isn’t hard to abrade your eye with paper, tooth brushes, bunches of things. eyes can heal quickly if not injured badly.
Can hurt like a SOB in the process, though.
I work in ophthalmology. I had a coworker accidentally paper-cut the side of her eye (in the “white” of the eye) when she had a new sharp-edged manila file folder too close to her face and moved it plus turned her head at the same time. It wasn’t deep at all, and healed up like any other paper cut.
We’ve had patients with punctures to the globe of the eye, including one woman who tripped and fell on the sidewalk, and managed to fall just right (wrong?) on the curb to puncture her eye through the “white.” (This is difficult. Eyes have the strength of decent leather.) It got stitched up and healed.
Cuts in the front of the eye, around the cornea (the bulging-out part in the middle) can be more difficult because not only will they obscure vision during healing, they can - if very deep - damage other delicate structures involved with your ability to see. That being said, it all depends on what’s done. Controlled cutting-off of part of the cornea is involved in some eyesight correction surgeries, so it can definitely heal, but you need decent medical attention to ensure the best outcome.
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### Author:  [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2013, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-cut-their-eye-while-shaving-if-so-what-happened/676036/10 "2013-12-11T04:52:19Z")
I never even knew this was something I should be worrying about. Now it’ll be all I can think about.
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### Author:  [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2013, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-cut-their-eye-while-shaving-if-so-what-happened/676036/11 "2013-12-11T05:09:28Z")
> [@njtt](#):
>
> _[Un Chien Andalou.](http://vimeo.com/18540575)_
It can also summon wild [Pixies](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVyS9JwtFoQ).
And my facial hair is 2.5 - 3 cm from my eye, so slipping would be a possible but low-chance concern. Don’t shave upwards there!
I’d think your concerns would be:
[ol]
[li]Infection, most importantly[/li][li][Corneal abrasion](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corneal_abrasion)[/li][li]The white part is the sclera. Damage wouldn’t affect vision, but most likely refer to #1[/li][li]If you cut through the cornea and damaged the lens or something, but that is unlikely unless we’re talking about a straight razor or something.[/li][/ol]