My son welds and got arc eye recently. Is this dangerous?
Your son should be wearing some kind of protective goggles, and either a shield, or a helmet every time he welds. There are two types of radiation that are emitted by welding arcs that can cause damage the eyes: ultraviolet light (UV) and Infrared (IR). The shield should prevent 100% of these harmful rays from hitting the eyes. Arc eye is correctly a photokeratitis/conjunctivitis. This simply refers to UV radiation hitting the eye and causing damage to the cornea. When it hits the cornea, he will feel like there is sand in the eye: it may be red, tearing, and irritated. This is usually short term and drops may be prescribed if severe. It is not dangerous, per se, but repeated injury can cause permanent damage. In addition, long-term exposure to UV/IR radiation can lead to early cataract, which is a cloudiness of the lens in the eye.
More dangerously, if proper eye protection is not worn, pieces of flux (molten metal) can hit the eye and be embedded in the cornea. The cornea is a wet, moist tissue, and when a metallic particle is left in this type of tissue, a rust ring can form in the cornea. The longer the piece of metal in the eye, the larger and denser the rust ring. And if the metal/rust ring is in the centre of the eye, it can affect vision. Tell your son that as soon as he gets a piece of metal in his eye, he should stop what he is doing and consult an eye specialist to have it removed as soon as possible. Early removal will also lead to the lessening of possible scarring of the cornea.
My son does carpentry work when he cannot find work welding. What should he do to protect his eyes?
He should always wear safety glasses to prevent damage to the eye from either things flying into the eye, or things hitting the eyes. For example, there have been reports of carpenters hammering in a nail at the wrong angle and the nail flying up and hitting/entering the eye, causing severe damage and in some instances permanent loss of sight. If someone is walking with pieces of wood or PVC pipes and suddenly turns around, the person behind may be hit in the eye with these materials, causing injury. As well, there can be injuries from grinding metallic particles flying into the eye, for example if he is sharpening a saw, or filing a piece of grillwork. As well, safety glasses prevent flying airborne particles from entering the eye, ie sawdust, cement dust, etc.
Remember, prevention is better than cure – especially when it comes to the eyes.
