Eye damage from arc welding

[prism]

I had a really crappy teacher for my Metals Lab class in high school, and he neglected to go over the safety procedures for using an arc welder since most of my classmates had previous experience in welding, whereas I did not. I ended up using an arc welder for ~5 minutes without the dark part of the visor down on my mask until my teacher noticed and berated me.

Later that night my eyes felt dry and itchy and I followed my teacher's advice to put potatoes over my eyes (no idea what the science behind that is...), and that was the extent of my problems.

I'm just wondering if there's any chance in the future if I can develop eye problems because of this incident, even though this happened years ago and I haven't had any problems since.

 

[Throckmorton]

The issue is retina burns. If you don't see spots, I wouldn't worry. You could get your retinas checked by an opthamologist.

Edit: BTW, I think I read that a lot of welders don't use the proper shade glass. So you aren't alone. Your teacher was an idiot though. You should have sued the school for all future medical expenses and so they could replace that fool.

 

[silverpig]

If you're okay now it shouldn't be a problem. The issue is that the UV from the arc can burn your retinae. Basically you get a "sunburn" on the inside of your eyes. If you get a mild one you can heal. If you get royally messed up you'd know.

 

[BoomerD]

Flash burns suck. The first time it happened to me, I woke up in the middle of the night, feeling like someone had poured sand into my eyes...
I have a few scars on my retina that never completely healed from working around welders and welding myself for over 30 years. (it really sux when you flash yourself!) Nothing that limits my vision, but I have a few places where there are "spots"...Many years ago, I learned to steal the little bottle of novacaine/lidocaine/xylocaine eye drops from the doctor's office...They're not a cure, but they do provide some temporary relief...:roll:
OP, if it's only a mild flashburn, you'll be fine. Definitely worth having them checked by a good opthamologist however.

 

[AgentUnknown]

Go see a doctor now!

 

[Colt45]

So uh... what did you think the dark filter was for, then?

 

[jagec]

How did you possibly manage to weld without the shield? It's painfully obvious that you need it from the first second you strike an arc.

 

[wetcat007]

A Metals teacher decided not to go over safety information for the students. I'm pretty sure he could lose his job for that(although teachers unions might avoid that), dumb decision on his part.

 

[TitanDiddly]

I am a Welding Engineering student.

1. Report the teacher. Don't chicken out on this.
2. See an eye doctor at your convenience. There's not really any first aid/urgency to retina burns, but sooner is better than later.
3. Buy an autodarkening mask for $50 at Harbor Freight. So very worth it.

Edit: Just saw that you said 'in high school'. How long ago was this?

 

[Jahee]

Did everyone miss the part where he said "this happened a few years ago" Lol.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Originally posted by: Jahee
Did everyone miss the part where he said "this happened a few years ago" Lol.

Lol, yeah.

Anyway, havn't you ever watched movies in high school? When do they EVER not use visors when welding?

 

[StageLeft]

You have had no problem and are going back years back to satisfy your hypochondria? Sad.

 

[alkemyst]

what i see as amazing is you had the helmet on and didn't think to lower it.

WTF did you have it on your head for decoration.

I feel shop classes should be brought back, they provided a lot of weeding out.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Originally posted by: alkemyst
what i see as amazing is you had the helmet on and didn't think to lower it.

WTF did you have it on your head for decoration.

I feel shop classes should be brought back, they provided a lot of weeding out.

I'm all for having a high school entrance exam that consists of locking each student in a room with a penny and a light socket. If they're still alive after an hour, they can go on. If not, problem solved.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

One of the few things my step father ever did that was nice was wallop me on the back of the head if I started to weld with my shield up. If you were given books in school then they told you to wear a fn shield, don't blame your teacher cause you were too lazy to read all the books.

 

[Throckmorton]

Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth

Originally posted by: alkemyst
what i see as amazing is you had the helmet on and didn't think to lower it.

WTF did you have it on your head for decoration.

I feel shop classes should be brought back, they provided a lot of weeding out.

I'm all for having a high school entrance exam that consists of locking each student in a room with a penny and a light socket. If they're still alive after an hour, they can go on. If not, problem solved.

You people are idiots. He had the mask down, but he didn't have the 2nd glass down.

 

[FoBoT]

Originally posted by: TitanDiddly
3. Buy an autodarkening mask for $50 at Harbor Freight. So very worth it.

dude, this one looks pretty cool

http://www.harborfreight.com/c...egoryID=644&pricetype=

Superior auto-darkening lens for arc, MIG and TIG welding.

oh! this one is a skull!!

http://www.harborfreight.com/c...m.taf?itemnumber=94566

 

[Injury]

I've been flashed by it before when some of the guys at the factory I worked at were dicks and didn't warn people that they were getting ready to do it, and I've also been flashed by very hot burning magnesium -- You can see the outline of the flames from that even through your eyelids. If you aren't seeing spots now then there probably wasn't long term damage, but if you are concerned you're better off talking to a doctor and finding out from an EXPERT now rather than when you see symptoms develop (or lack thereof) decades from now.

 

[Eli]

One five minute exposure isn't anything to be alarmed about. Did you damage your eyes? Yes. Will it be noticeable in a week? No.

 

[Mark R]

The problem described here is not retinal burns. This is 'arc eye' - it's a bit like sunburn to the cornea (the front of the eye).

The arc produces large amounts of UV-C. This is much more damaging that UVA and UVB from sunlight, but very poorly penetrating. It doesn't penetrate into the eye at all, it stops at the surface. Because it is all absorbed in the cornea it does a lot of damage, causing the lining of the cornea to burn and die.

Over a few hours to a day ot so, it can often get very scratchy. In severe cases it can become very painful and the vision can be disturbed. Then after about 2-3 days it just recovers as the cornea regenerates.

No harm in getting it checked out.

 

[miniMUNCH]

Also... welders should wear long sleeves, etc. I know two welders who have had skin cancer do to the UV from welding.

 

[villageidiot111]

When I was in shop learning to weld my teacher told a story about how he used to weld for the navy. On his first day he and several other newbies started welding something, and he noticed that one guy wasn't even wearing a mask. He claimed that he didn't "need" it. A week later he was legally blind.

 

[imported_Baloo]

Somehow I doubt the teacher never said anything about protecting your eyes.

 

[cherrytwist]

Originally posted by: Prism
I had a really crappy teacher for my Metals Lab class in high school, and he neglected to go over the safety procedures for using an arc welder since most of my classmates had previous experience in welding, whereas I did not. I ended up using an arc welder for ~5 minutes without the dark part of the visor down on my mask until my teacher noticed and berated me.

Later that night my eyes felt dry and itchy and I followed my teacher's advice to put potatoes over my eyes (no idea what the science behind that is...), and that was the extent of my problems.

I'm just wondering if there's any chance in the future if I can develop eye problems because of this incident, even though this happened years ago and I haven't had any problems since.

Well, there's your problem. He said tomatoes.

You should sleep with sliced tomatoes on your eyes every night from now on and you'll be cured.

Trust me, I post on ATOT so I definitely know what I'm talking about.

 

[prism]

Originally posted by: tenshodo13

Originally posted by: Jahee
Did everyone miss the part where he said "this happened a few years ago" Lol.

Lol, yeah.

Anyway, havn't you ever watched movies in high school? When do they EVER not use visors when welding?

You're right, I forgot about that part in Arc Welders 7: Vengeance of the Iron where everyone was welding for 2 hours straight and were talking about how awesome the dark part of their visors were...

In response to some other posts, I wouldn't consider myself a hypochondriac, but maybe I am, maybe I should get checked out for it :thumbsup:; it was not painfully obvious that I should have the dark part down, I felt no pain whatsoever; I paid attention in class very astutely, got an A and set the grading curve for it despite my experience, I am very safety conscious, and I know that the teacher did not go over welding safety procedures other than "put the mask on" and "don't touch the arc with your hand". You'd be surprised what goes on in a tiny town's school where the average graduating class size is roughly 50 people. Don't be so quick to judge.