Flash Burn?

[kevin]

ouch

ever try using a sub arch on big pipe and forget to fill the flux hopper, 600 amps comes at ya awfully quick

[Bubblemaker]

You only have two eyes!

Just stop and imagine what it would be like to wake up and not be able to see anymore!

You only have two eyes!

....no body part you lose in the shop will ever grow back!

Its very simple... wear your welding helmet, safety glasses, safety shield ...whatever applies to the job at hand!!!

The moment you walk into the shop the first thing you should be doing is putting on a clean pair of safety glasses!

Macho BS should never enter into the workshop!

Always try to anticipate the worst thing that could happen!

Because....I guarantee you, the law of averages always wins out!

IT WILL HAPPEN!

Always BE SAFE!

[STRENGTH AND POWER]

I had been using a Radnor autodark helmet with auto-on. Friday I received my Digital Elite. Did real good about remembering to turn it on before putting it on. Except once.It works a lot better turned on. I hope my learning curve is quick.

I wear contacts 24-7, 30 days straight usually. The contacts are FDA rated for this. I spoke with my eye Dr. when I began welding more. I asked him about melting the contacts to my eye. Not very common says he, more of a myth. His experience is with wed-flash/burn, the eyes swell up and the increased pressure of the swollen eye against the contact makes removal a chore. I caught a chunk of metal to the eye, it was stuck in the contact lens. Not fun. And that was with safety glasses on. I now have 2 pairs of dewalt safety goggles that have a full rubber gasket around them. Definitely hotter than regular safety glasses but a small trade off. My insurance deductible is high enough..

[loudnproud]

i feel vulnerable when i'm not wearing safety glasses. i'm religious about wearing them, even with my hood down. just yesterday i had took them off while taking about a 5 minute break. after about 5 minutes i stood up and leaned over to look at the 5g pipe weld (mig) i was working on and "tink" a little peice of silicon jumped out right in the corner of my eye. luckly it didn't get me in the eye but right by the tear duct. boy it was hot too even after 5 minutes that silicon left a nice little bump. i guess the draft i produced when i leaned over it cooled it off some more and the silicon jumped off. what a good reminder why i wear them all the time.

z87.1 is supposed to block uv rays so they've probably saved me from arc burn a few times and i didn't even know it. when i was doing spray and pulse spray last week the uv was bouncing off my shirt and under my hood was a sticker that reflected on to my neck and lower face. got kinda burned from that up to about were my glasses were sitting.. mostly burned on the side the sticker was on. i invested in a little bib for my hood by the 2nd day on that project. i was a bit tender around my neck the next morning. it didn't take much. maybe 4 hours welding..

[loudnproud]

I wear contacts 24-7, 30 days straight usually. I caught a chunk of metal to the eye, it was stuck in the contact lens. Not fun. And that was with safety glasses on.

same thing happened to me. went to put my contacts on the next morning and found a spec of metal embedded in them. got lucky. usually people wake up the next day in pain with a swollen eye then have to get the rust removed.

[tomasharvey]

This is the only post in this thread that makes any sense.

+1 - My high school welding teacher taught me the tea bag trick but not sure there is a bunch of science behind it. It may have been mentioned as I didn't read every post, but TV shows like OCC & the old Monster Garage teach the fine art of "closed eye tacking." I am more worried about getting a nice piece of slag burning on the old eye lid than a flash! Not alot of excuses with the quality auto-darken helmets on the market...wear it...it doesn't help much hanging from the shielding gas bottle valve!

[urch55]

Safety ..Forsight is better than nosight

Ya I dont think I will be tacking with out good protection. If I need to i can just shut my eyes a bit tighter :P

NO NO NO.!!You wear your welding helmet or you are fired. No excuses.!!!!! What are you going to say if your eyes get burnt out "whoops" Yea that does a lot of good. There is no job or person worth your eye sight.. Don't make us fellow welders come over there and shove the safety rules down your throat... Hmmm that sounded odd. Well anyway you get the picture..
I have heard that raw slices of potatos takes the burn out , hey just think then you can have some chips later..
Bob

[cruizer]

Being a Welder Tech, I seem to get flashed more often than I would have liked. Idiot welders showing me what the arc is doing before I am ready.

I've tried near everything including the potatoe trick. There is an eye gell you can get on prescription, and thats the only thing thats worked over the years. Helps if you wash your eyes out just after the flash, as they will bulge and dry out real quickly

[Wicked one]

Being a Welder Tech, I seem to get flashed more often than I would have liked. Idiot welders showing me what the arc is doing before I am ready.

I've tried near everything including the potatoe trick. There is an eye gell you can get on prescription, and thats the only thing thats worked over the years. Helps if you wash your eyes out just after the flash, as they will bulge and dry out real quickly

Ponticain is the name of the gel. It also works well to clot blood after you punch the guy in the eye for flashing you!!!

[m.k.swelding]

you know you have been burn when the layers on your eyes start to peel. Trust me it hurts.

[mikeswelding]

Cold tea bags can be used to help relieve pain if nothing else is available.
There should be a cream or drops on sale at chemists for this problem.
Have been told a quick direct look at the sun, on receiving a flash will
prevent flash burn,I have done this many times and have had no problems.
Looking at the reflection of welding of a bright surface,like corrugated
iron can result in a bad flash burn.

R W

"A quick direct look at the sun...will prevent flash burn" you are a raving idiot! That is like saying that if you get a slag burn, you should just hit it with a blast from your O/A torch. Like more burn will take away the burn! The folk remedies posted here are downright scary! Get an opinion from a qualified professional!

[ligito]

An old friend told me about his always carrying the head of a ball peen hammer on his belt.
When his eyes got hot he would put the flat end against his eyes to soothe them.

[Grumpy]

You don't need to shut your eyes tighter - you need to wear your helmet. Don't get caught up in some kind of macho nonsense about not using safety equipment. "Macho" don't help you carry a white cane!

Quit watching those stupid TV shows where no one wears a helmet. Don't do as they do do what's right for your eyes. Those type of TV shows should be banned unless they are using the proper safety equipment. Wear that HELMET!!!

[tomasharvey]

"A quick direct look at the sun...will prevent flash burn" you are a raving idiot! That is like saying that if you get a slag burn, you should just hit it with a blast from your O/A torch. Like more burn will take away the burn! The folk remedies posted here are downright scary! Get an opinion from a qualified professional!

Plus your really screwed if your working the night shift or it's a cloudy day...then you have to call in sick...tell them your waiting for a sunny day so you can go outside and stare at the sun to relieve your flash burn...

[welderIVlife]

flash burn

i have been a welder for some time now and gotten flash burn 3 times twice when i first started and once welding next to other people on a line with no curtain. it feels like sand is in your eyes and burn like **** but what i use was potatoe slices, believe it or not it really does work. it draws the burning feeling from your eyes. just my 2 cents.