I just read the box and it says not to touch it with your bare hand. What will happen if you touch it? I screwed my in with my hand before i read that on the box

I think they mean bare hand when its hot

isn't there something about the oil ( sweat and whatever ) being imprinted onto the bulb? thought i read that somewhere........

it shortens the bulbs life?

Nope. Finger oil would only matter if you could touch the inner portion of the lamp.

yeah, if you touch a halogen bulb the oil can actually cause it to explode, which i've done at work. But metal halide should be fine to touch when cool.

yea, thats why i asked about the finger oils. I ended up just washing it with alcohol just in case cuz who knows when they will get more eye bulbs in ;-)