Welders flash

That's definitely possible. I also think grinding can cause irritation if you don't use a full face guard.

Check that your tear duct is working on that side. Rub your finger against the inside of your nose next to the dry eye. You might have a plugged tear duct. Dust, dirt or a minor infection can plug the duct. Any safety glasses with side shields will protect you from flash. You don't need shaded glasses. In some places it is a requirement that all welders wear safety glasses under their helmets. It eliminates eye flashes. The only people who get flashes while wearing safety glasses are the ones who wear them on top of their head. I have seen that done and the guy was off for several days after tack welding by just closing his eyes. Randy

Well, my parents owned a drugstore here in Puerto Rico and I saw many people who went into an eye operation just by receiving one flying spark from a grinder. About welder's flash I never saw anyone who went to the pharmacy to ask for help, many weldors here were very professional in the 1960's to the 80's. I usually hold my breath when welding, and after some minutes I retire from the job about 5 or 10 feet. Never weld inside a closed room. Never weld even closing eyes, that is (I think) dangerous. I also hold my breath for accuracy, just like when I was in the US Army firing the M-16. This gave me some accuracy. Pedro/Peter

Randy: Yes it's true, however, I feel more safer when I use the shaded glasses. I read on one manual that what causes the welder's flash are the UVC (ultra violet c rays) rays. Normally, safety glasses don't have this protection, I believe? Pedro/Peter

Just about any glasses, with glass or plastic lenses, will stop UV. The best reason for wearing safety glasses under the hood is to stop the red hot BBs that sometimes get in there from hitting your eyes.

I've done my share of that, but I always make sure the gun comes between me and the arc.
I worked in one shop where they ran 95/5 argon/oxygen, *very* bright flash.. strange thing, late on Sunday my eyes would feel burned and they'd be pretty uncomfortable Monday morning. Come lunchtime they'd feel fine again for the rest of the week, no idea why but it was consistent week to week.
John

What do you know about welder's flash. Too much. I've welded for about 30 years. Sometimes a lot, sometimes not so much. I've never had welder's flash until about a month ago. I did something very stupid and watched what seemed like just a few seconds of tig because I was letting someone else use the helmet. I thought everything was fine until in the middle of the night, I had such intense pain that I would have liked to dig my eyes out of their sockets. I ended up being driven to the emergency room, where they can give you drops that almost instantly make the pain go away. It is a very dramatic change from so much pain, to almost none in such a short period. But the bad thing is that the drops only last for 20 minutes or so and they can only use the drops for a short period, because it would damage your eyes if used over any length of time. They gave me some pain killers. You hope that they kick in before the drops wear off. Not so in my case. Luckily, your eyes are one of the fastest healing parts of your body. I was fine after a day. You can use this as a cautionary tale if you'd like, but it's never going to happen to me again if I have anything to do with it. If you do start to have that gritty feeling in your eyes and suspect you have welders flash, get to a medical facility asap. It will save you many hours of pain. Not proud of it, Bob

Yep, once you get flashed most folks do everything they can to avoid it again. Same thing goes for fume fever.

Ok, what about this? Sometimes your eyes get burned and you don't feel anything for some hours because (I think) there are parts from your cell's eyes that die and then they become like cell worms. After these cell groups form a worm, your eyes stick to these worms and they begin to sore. After a day when you solder too much and with a low shade helmet, try to use eyewashs (Baush & Lomb, etc.). This helps, I have proved it. I have soldered about 8 hours sometimes and at night I am reading as if nothing happened to me in the day. I am also thinking that here in Puerto Rico, because we have a bright and hot sun, our eyes get accustomed to harsh conditions. I avoid at all means to see the flash of welding. Thanks for your advise. Pedro/Peter

Another thing, many people tend to see the flash because sometimes the stick is difficult to flash, even if you raise your machine's amps, and in their struggle to flash the stick they get desperate and try to see what is happening. Here they see more flashes. What I do is that I tap or stike the stick to concrete (yes, no ground) to expose more of the cover, because I have noticed that sticks are very hard to flash when you stop a work and try to continue. Sometimes the inner core melts to the inside, and the stick does not flash.

If I am not making myself clear please have in mind that English is not my primary language.

The reflected UV light inside the helmet causes that slight but irritating flashing effect?

Esa es moy buen.
Gunner
"Considering the events of recent years, the world has a long way to go to regain its credibility and reputation with the US." unknown

This question is out of my knowledge... perhaps it is so

You are doing a lot better at it than a lot of people I know where English is their only language!

Well, maybe some "stage fright" here.... if it applies... thanks

The one time I thought I had welders flash was when I got a small piece of slag in my eye. I had stupidly chipped the slag without eye protection (6013 slag if anyone is interested :-)). Coincidentally, that same day I flashed myself, so my assumption was the discomfort was due to welders flash. It had that sandy feel that people describe, but was only in one eye. Eventually, I flushed my eye out by dunking my head in the bathtub and opening and closing my eyes. That spelled relief...

I don't know if you have noticed this: Usually welder's flash is not immediate, it takes some time after you are, lets say, "infected" or "injured". Before the welder's flash you begin to feel that your eyes are tickling or a similar feeling. After you get the welder's flash it is very difficult to abort it. That is why I believe that you must wash your eyes with some brand eye washs before it takes all over. Also, sometimes we must try to see if the cause was the fumes or that they were the flashes itselfs. In your case it is difficult to be sure what caused the irritation (after all, what is "welder's flash" if not an irritation of the eyes?). Anyhow, the contents of the slag are enough to cause irritation. Thanks for the info....

And, also, these is one of the reasons I hate the 6013 stick, too much slag. When I use the 6011 little slag forms, and you can wire brush it away.... I continue to say that every type of stick has its uses, so consult the "Procedure Handbook"
Pedro/Peter