All of a sudden in the middle of the night you wake up and you wonder what is going on. Your eyes will not open and every blink it feels like your eyeballs are being scratched by 80 grit sandpaper. Tears are streaming down your face when you are exposed to light and you are not the crying type. What the heck is going on ? Welcome to the welding world of flash burned eyes.
This most commonly happens to welders but it can happen to any person near the extreme bright ultraviolet light when welding. Pipe fitters also suffer from eye burns quite frequently. If your planning to weld for a career this will happen to you at some point. Below i have listed general knowledge on how to prevent and what to do when you burn your eyes.
Protecting Your Eyes from the Light
- When welding you need to make sure your welding lens is properly sealed and no light is getting threw when welding. Sometimes when welding you can concentrate on making your weld and tend to ignore the blue light. This can happen when the gasket is not in or when there is a crack in the lens itself.
- Old welding hoods that have been used for years can also seep light. Typically they just wear out after making years of welds.
- When not wearing a hood you need to pay close attention to other welders around. At times you will have to weld close to other welders. Tube welding is on example of this.
- Watch your surrounding. You do not have to be looking directly at the welding light to get burned eyes. Reflections off shinny surfaces can burn your eyes also.
- Use welding blinds when possible.
- For those people like pipe fitters who have to be around welding all day there is a simply rule to follow” DO NOT LOOK AT THE LIGHT” ! No fit is that important.
Symptoms of Welding Flash Burns
- Welding flash eye burns typically take several hours before you are able to notice any symptoms.
- Pain can vary from mild irritation to severe pain. If you feel your eyes are severely burned do not hesitate to seek medical attention. The pain sometimes can last up to 3 days.
- It can feel like you have sand in your eyes.
- Eyes will water constantly.
- Vision will blurred
- Due to light sensitivity opening your eyes can be a challenge and quite painful for more severe cases of flash burn to your eyes.
Treatments of Welding Flash Burns
Seek medical attention for severe flash burns.
I have burned my eyes severely welding a couple of times in 20yrs of welding. The times I did burn them i did not go to the doctor for reasons such as stubbornness, thinking I will just tough it out, did not want to spend the money, etc… . As I look back on these rare occasions I realize that it was a mistake. Flash burns can be a very unpleasant experience. If my eyes were burned today by welding i would just go to the doctor and get some relief.
- You can seek medical attention for flash burned eyes at emergency room, doctor or ophthalmologist.
- To ease the pain of your eye injury your doctor can prescribe dilating eye drops. This can relax your eye muscles and allow time to heal.
- Antibiotic ointments or drops will protect the eye from getting infected.
Home solutions for mild flash burns.
- You can use over the counter eye drops such as artificial tears or visine products. Look for one that people use for contacts and make sure that has antibiotic in it.
- If your wear contacts. Be smart and do not wear them until your eyes have healed.
- Wear a dark pair of sunglasses this will help with the sensitivity to light.
- Take some painkillers such as alieve or ibuprofen.
- Wet wash cloth over yours can help temporarily ease pain.
Conclusion : A Welding flash burn is when the cornea becomes inflamed. The cornea is the clear tissue that covers the front of the eye. I have only had a couple experiences with severe burned eyes. The best thing to do then is go to the doctor. You will know when your eyes are severly burned. It feels like nothing else you have ever felt before. The mild burn will sometimes just feel like more of a strained feeling. Far less painfull and will usually be fine the next day. I have tried using the old school home remedy of cutting some potato slices and putting them on my eyes. I had heard from my grandfather that this works. I don’t know if it really helped or not. Best thing i have found is prevention is the best treatment.
