SUNSHINE Coast

Great-grandmother Terry Horder got the fright of her life when she accidentally stuck her eyes shut with super-strength glue.

The 78-year-old Wurtulla resident was defrosting the fridge when her eyes started watering and she reached for a bottle of allergy eye drops.

But instead of grabbing the medicated drops she got Loctite 401 instant glue. The powerful adhesive was being kept in the fridge to avoid heat damage.

“That second my eyes were glued shut and I realised the glue was next to the drops in the fridge,” Mrs Horder said.

Her husband of 57 years, Joe Horder, said his normally outspoken wife was suddenly very quiet. “Normally you can’t shut her up but she went very silent and I just heard this little voice say ‘Dad, I think I’ve glued my eyes shut’,” Mr Horder said.

Mr Horder called Triple-0 and paramedics soon arrived to take her to Caloundra Hospital’s emergency ward.

Nurses then used vegetable oil to try to remove the glue, which had fused Mrs Horder’s eyelashes together and seeped under the lids.

“There was a pool of glue against the eyeball itself but lucky it couldn’t dry because of the water on the eye,” Mrs Horder said.

“They soaked my eyes for around five minutes and then tried to prise the lashes apart, which wasn’t pleasant. But about 10 minutes later I was good as new.”