Cataracts and AMD are among the leading causes of preventable blindness, and self-darkening welding helmets can help welders avoid them. In addition to UV radiation, welders often sustain eye injuries from flying metal, grinding dirt, slag chips, chemical irritants, fumes, and gases, all of which are preventable.
Metal foreign bodies in the cornea:
Very often these are people who work as machinists, welders, or mechanics. The epithelium, or outer layer of the cornea, is soft and metal fragments easily become stuck within the cornea. There is usually immediate pain when the foreign body gets into the cornea.
Numerous factors make welding a hazardous occupation for your eyes. Your eyes are also vulnerable to damage from both ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) light. It's no secret that welding can be hard on the eyes. Welding fumes can cause an inflammation of the cornea called photokeratitis.
When welders don't properly protect their eyes from the arc, they commonly suffer welder's flash, or photokeratitis, a condition caused by exposure to intense ultraviolet radiation resulting in temporary blindness and extreme discomfort. More extreme eye injuries can result in permanent blindness.
During arc welding, eye exposure to intense visible light is prevented mostly by a welder's helmet. However, welders can sustain retinal damage if they carelessly view an arc. At no time should anyone look at an arc without eye protection.
It's called arc eye, welder's flash, or photokeratitis, a corneal sunburn. Fortunately, the condition is not permanent, but the pain and swelling can be agonizing for a few days, with excessive watering, blinking, and blurred vision. And if flash burns are not treated quickly, infections may require further treatments.
One of these is the hazard posed by the intense light produced when welding is carried out. Looking at a welding arc without taking appropriate precautions, such as using adequate Personal Protective Equipment or Welding Curtains, can result in you being susceptible to arc-eye.
Visible light from welding processes is very bright and can overwhelm the ability of the iris of the eye to close sufficiently and rapidly enough to limit the brightness of the light reaching the retina. The result is that the light is temporarily blinding and fatiguing to the eye.
Symptoms of welder's flash can show up as early as 30 minutes after UV exposure. However, it can take up to 12 hours for a welder's flash symptoms to occur. The most common symptom of welder's flash is intense pain in the affected eye. You might have pain in both eyes if each was damaged by UV rays.
Over a long period of time these gases can affect the welder in a variety of ways. These include causing hearing loss and also Parkinson's disease and symptoms that are similar to Parkinson's, which are linked to Manganese exposure. Manganese is one of the gases released in the welding fume.
The most frequent ocular damage from welding is photokeratitis, also known as 'Welder's eye. ' Symptoms include foreign body sensation, pain and decreased visual acuity that onset about 6–12 hours after exposure to light radiation and fade 36–72 hours afterwards.
Welder's flash symptoms
You may have pain in both eyes if each was damaged by UV rays. Welder's flash can also cause photophobia (light sensitivity), causing headaches and eye discomfort. This medical eye condition can also make you feel like you have dirt or debris in your eye when you don't.
sharp pain in your eye followed by burning and irritation. feeling that there is something in your eye. watery and red eye. scratchy feeling when blinking.
Treatment for flash burns may include: Dilating drops – these are sometimes used to relax the eye muscles, which in turn eases pain and allows your eyes to rest and heal. Your pupils (the black part of the eye) will look bigger than normal. This effect lasts several hours to a few days.
After taking a good history, recording visual acuity and anesthetizing the eye, it's time to choose your weapon. A magnetic spud or 25-gauge needle works well to dislodge and remove most superficial metallic foreign bodies without much damage to the surrounding tissue.
Prolonged exposure to welding fume may cause lung damage and various types of cancer, including lung, larynx and urinary tract. . Health effects from certain fumes may include metal fume fever, stomach ulcers, kidney damage and nervous system damage.
Corneal flash burns occur when a very strong light burns the surface of the eye (the cornea). Causes of corneal flash burns include skiing without glasses, welding arcs and sun lamps. Usually the symptoms of pain and swelling of the eye with blurred vision occurs approximately 6 to 12 hours after the burn.
This causes superficial burning to the front of the eye(s) and occasionally the eyelids and develops 6-10 hours after the incident. As this area is very sensitive it is a painful condition but will heal up within 24-48 hours without any long-term complications.
Many studies report increased risk of lung cancer in welders or other workers exposed to welding fume. The International Association for Research on Cancer (IARC) conclude that all welding fume can cause lung cancer and may cause kidney cancer, classifying all welding fume as Group 1 carcinogenic substances.
If a welder isn't wearing any kind of protective gear, the flying particles can easily hit the eyes, but even if the welder is wearing a helmet, it may not be enough. If you're not wearing safety glasses or goggles, the debris can make it past the helmet's front shield and into the eye.
Despite opposite claims, welding is a highly stable career. In addition, welding skills can be applied to various industries, so you can easily switch from one industry to another with little to no need for training. This diversity allows welders to explore multiple sectors and work on different types of projects.
Cons of the Welding Profession
Welders may experience some dangers and discomfort on the job including burns, eye discomfort, exposure to hazardous materials and a lot of physical effort.
Arc eye can happen when welders' eyes are exposed to the UV radiation flashes from welding torches known as “arcs.” If a welder isn't wearing proper eye protection, UV radiation from welding arcs can injure the epithelium of the cornea.
Welding is a potentially hazardous activity and precautions are required to avoid electrocution, fire and explosion, burns, electric shock, vision damage, inhalation of poisonous gases and fumes, and exposure to intense ultraviolet radiation.