This evening has been quite the adventure! I headed to my campsite on the water in a protected little bay, looking forward to enjoying the last of the day’s sun on the mountaintops and the impressive glacier across Passage Canal. Getting out of the van, I dropped my bearspray on the ground and it broke, hissing loudly and spraying its toxic chemicals high into the air. I immediately ran out of harms way before realising that the chemicals were probably spraying into my van as it was going off right next to my open door. As such, I quickly moved forwards and kicked the spraying can away from the van, and unfortunately in the process the chemicals sprayed into my eyes. I hastily began pouring water into my eyes and read the empty can for first aid directions, which were to flush your eyes under running water for fifteen to twenty minutes. I immediately kicked into action, grabbing my daypack and quickly scrambling down to the nearby creek to get to business.
After first splashing the water up into my eyes with my hands, I turned to a running stream between two large boulders which I used to support myself while leaning forward and simultaneously flushing my eyes with the icy water the best I could. I constantly had to stop to take a breath and recompose myself before sticking my head back under the icy-cold running water. My feet were getting wet and my hands were freezing as they were exposed to the frigid air and stuck to the icy-cold boulders supporting my bodyweight. I forced myself to keep my head under the running water for as long as I could tolerate at a time, and to keep repeating this for as long as I could. I set myself small goals of five minutes to keep my head under the cold water for at a time, until I had been rinsing my eyes thoroughly for twenty minutes.
I was shaking from the intense cold as I quickly scrambled back up the rocks, jumped in my van, and drove the short distance back to town. I headed straight for the Anchor Inn, which is just about the only business open at this time of year. The friendly lady I had spoken with earlier in the evening quickly called the paramedics for me while I continued flushing my eyes out in the bathroom under much warmer and more luxurious conditions.
The paramedics were very calm and helpful. They had me lie down in the ambulance while they flushed my eyes with a saline solution. They alleviated my concerns by explaining the ingredients of bearspray and the effects that they have on humans. The paramedics told me how they have had a lot of experience with pepper spray, having both being sprayed in the eyes with it on numerous occasions during training. Soon we were all laughing and joking, telling bearspray related stories and shooting the shit. They were great guys and I appreciated their empathy and support of my situation.
Thankfully the saline solution did wonders for me! I could soon see perfectly well again without a haze to my surroundings anymore. I thanked Martin and Rob very much for their help, before grabbing a quick shower at the convenience store next door. The owners of the store were kind enough to stay behind after they had closed up shop, while I finished washing myself and my clothes thoroughly. I used dishwashing detergent to wash myself as recommended by the paramedics to remove the oily bearspray chemicals. I then spent the rest of the night washing and drying all of my clothes at the laundromat, before pulling up stumps near the soothing sound of the large waterfall which forms the backdrop to town. I felt fresh in my clean clothes and ready for a good sleep after an interesting ordeal. What a day!!
lukasadventures 
Wow I am glad you are fine !
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Haha! Thanks Nicolly, me too!!
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