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Burned Eyes

55K views 154 replies 60 participants last post by  oldred 
#1 ·
Is there anything to do for burned eyes from welding? I'm in so much pain right now!!!
 
#128 ·
powerrodsmike said:
Don't use potatos. :nono: Use clean ice packs, Visene, murine, eyewash from the first aid kit...don't put vegetable juice into a damaged eye. Potatoes grow in the dirt.

Read through this thread.

http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/welders-tan-111316.html?highlight=potato\

If you have an emergency room you can go to have them put some ophthalmic tetracaine..That will get the sand out.
Other than that there ain't much you can do... :pain:

Later, mikey

Wow lol..... VERY GOOD READ!!! Thank you.
 
#129 ·
NEW INTERIORS said:
I do most of my tacking without my shield... You will get a flash faster from the side then dead on... Almost every time I ever got a flash, Was because of the people that would be welding on side of me... :spank:
Isn't that the truth.

Worse burn I ever got, guy working on the same table TIG welding some stainless(GTAW for the youngsters). Both eyes taped and wrapped for 3 days. The eye doc put an ointment in them and gave me some pain pills. If you care for your eye sight go straight to an Eye doctor for all eye burns. All those home remedies do not work.

I used to tack weld with dark glasses and sunscreen on my face, but I feel such things are foolish with the auto darkening lenses so readily available.
 
#135 ·
bentwings said:
If I was a doctor treating you heroistic, non safety equipment users I'd charge double......once for the treatment and once for stupidity. :( :nono: :pain:

A lot of times it isn't stupidity... :nono:

I know from working in the ship yards most of my life, When your inside a unit that's maybe 75'' x 75'' and 20 people are working around you... No matter what you do,One of them ''Will'' get you sooner are later.. :mwink:


Now !!! I have seen some that should get to feel the pain... IT WILL TEACH THEM.. :D
 
#137 ·
All these guys sound scared to death,i've had arc flash many many many times in the last 40 years, it does feel like sand, andpotatoe halves always helped me-its just a sunburn of the eyes, now if you stared at this weld flash i could see a doctor. otherwise , forget about it,Mine allways got cleared up within no longer than 3 hours.I worked in nuke plant and welding there is part of ones day. I had no eye infection in probably 25 burns - no kidding} they got better with just a kool compress [potatoes] funny thing the starch in the poteato turned the potatos black.we figured , it had pulled the heat out of our eyes. Its not a good thing to happen to oneself. But its all part of building hotrods just thougt i add alot of burned eyes with me.

ps the part i never understood was this ;i could get "flash" i the pm and i could get it in the morning or even in the evening. The sand effect never ever showed up. til after 10 at night figure that one out
 
#138 ·
bsa_bob said:
All these guys sound scared to death,i've had arc flash many many many times in the last 40 years, it does feel like sand, andpotatoe halves always helped me-its just a sunburn of the eyes, now if you stared at this weld flash i could see a doctor. otherwise , forget about it,Mine allways got cleared up within no longer than 3 hours.I worked in nuke plant and welding there is part of ones day. I had no eye infection in probably 25 burns - no kidding} they got better with just a kool compress [potatoes] funny thing the starch in the poteato turned the potatos black.we figured , it had pulled the heat out of our eyes. Its not a good thing to happen to oneself. But its all part of building hotrods just thougt i add alot of burned eyes with me.

ps the part i never understood was this ;i could get "flash" i the pm and i could get it in the morning or even in the evening. The sand effect never ever showed up. til after 10 at night figure that one out


Hey!!! If you believe potato's work.... :D Well !!!! :drunk: NEVER MIND !!!!LOL :D
 
#139 ·
Well---I thought maybe they did the trick-after i had used them so many times. I tried eye ointments, solutions and various remedies that even Dr s prescribed,to no aval. I can't say they work for all people, but running to the Dr gets expensive :sweat: . hmo take care
 
#140 ·
Potatoes seem to work only because they cool your eyes but anything cool will seem to help, non-sterile things like raw potatoes can be dangerous and ice packs do the same thing much safer and do it much better. Using potatoes is just an "old wives" tale that can cause you a lot of grief DON'T DO IT! :nono:
 
#141 ·
OLRED!!! I recognized the name. I have been around long enough that i don't weld much anymore but used to do all my own bodywork on 23 hotrods after i learned how, and i do know my wife was getting tired of me sitting on the couch in the evening with taters on my eyes .You guys are probably right-- as compared to me and the potatoes. [go to a dr] It got so arc flash got to common once i got my mig welder.Old habits are hard to break. :spank: as the song goes.
So now i am safer not welding......i will say this though, i welded on each and every kar i did and i'm still seeing. See ya bob s
 
#142 · (Edited)
oldred said:
Potatoes seem to work only because they cool your eyes but anything cool will seem to help, non-sterile things like raw potatoes can be dangerous and ice packs do the same thing much safer and do it much better. Using potatoes is just an "old wives" tale that can cause you a lot of grief DON'T DO IT! :nono:


I have to agree 100% with everything you said here...I can tell you one thing... I'm not to sure what your doctor is giving you,, But the stuff that my doctor has used on me,, IT WILL STOP IT IN SECONDS...You CAN'T even get a prescription here anymore.. :mad:

Yes ''ANYTHING'' Cold and wet will easy the pain a little... If they had a word a step down from little,I would use that word... :mwink:


And as far as the potato's go..... If you believe they work.... That's good for you.... I was very young when I first heard someone say potato's worked...

Well I can say this..... EVEN went as far as chopping them up in a chopper,, Then packing my eyes with the tater's and juices.. :drunk:

I did realizes two things in life... :drunk:
1.POTATO'S DON'T WORK... :nono:
2.AND THERE IS !!!!!! SOMETHINGS THAT THE OLDER PEOPLE SAY TO YOU, THAT YOU SHOULDN'T BELIEVE... :mwink: OR TRY AT HOME...LOL :D :thumbup:


I ''MYSELF'' would never tell anyone to stick potato's in there eyes... :nono: :nono: And don't even waste your time with the chopper...It still don't help... :drunk: :drunk: :drunk: :drunk:
 
#143 ·
I have not had arc flash in over 20 years, ever since I began wearing uv filter safety glasses.
And believe me if you have ever seen a pipefitter work with his welder you will know how many times we get flashed.
It is not the brightness that makes the eye burn, it is the uv.
Standard clear lensed uv rated saftey glasses are your friend for 2 reasons, arc flash and foreign objects.
Put them on and get used to wearing them, someday you too may be glad you did.
 
#145 ·
Old Fool said:
It is not the brightness that makes the eye burn, it is the uv.


That's how some burns occur from the side or from a reflection, the victim my not even realize he is being "flashed" because he is not seeing the blinding light. That's also the reason the Auto-Dark lens work even if they don't go dark, even clear glass offers a lot of protection and the right UV rated safety glasses do not even have to be dark to work.
 
#146 ·
bsa_bob said:
No you guys are right!!But can you share with me what the dr gave you that "kooled" your eyes in seconds.I''ll never pick up amother potato the rest of my life! any help appreciated bob s

Mr.Bob.. I'm Not sure what the name is,, But I will sure find out for you..As far as I know... Its a dilating drop that deadens the eye... I really don't think it does anything for the burn... The eye heals it's self pretty fast,, That's why when you get a piece of metal in your eye,, The doctor usually has to drill it out...the skin of the eye will grow over it fast.. Had that happen more then once.. :pain: (Or grinds it out).. It's one of them things they use... :drunk:

I was also told that's why they don't give a prescription for it any more... I was told that when you are using the drops, You will not feel when something goes into your eye and can be very dangerous,, So they don't want to prescribe it anymore.. :smash: :spank:

But I will do my best to get you a name.. :thumbup:
 
#147 ·
Pontacain (spl?) was the most widely used several years ago but I have been told there is another drug more popular today, not sure on that one but Pontacain Hydrochloride stops the pain instantly! It was for years that a lot of shops kept the stuff in the first-aid kit and although it was not an over-the-counter drug it was fairly easy to get, in some cases all a person had to do was sign for it at the drug store. About 20 years ago I tried to renew my supply at the shop and was told by the druggist that he could no longer let me have it without a written doctors prescription. When I called my doctor he told me they had cracked down on it and he could not let me have it unless it was for a case he personally examined, he also told me it was a very bad idea to keep the stuff on hand because people with serious eye injuries were using it instead of going to the doctor and were, as he put it, going blind with a smile on their face! The point is if you need something as strong as that then you really don't need to be treating it yourself anyway and although the vast majority of "flash burns" are not going to be dangerous the small percentage that could be that serious is not worth the risk. If those eyes are hurting enough to need something like Pontacain Hydrochloride for relief then a person really needs to see his doctor while he can still see anything!


Your eyes are to precious to treat a serious injury yourself and without seeing a doctor you don't know how serious that burn may be. Don't risk it, it's just not worth it!
 
#148 ·
bsa_bob said:
No you guys are right!!But can you share with me what the dr gave you that "kooled" your eyes in seconds.I''ll never pick up amother potato the rest of my life! any help appreciated bob s
Drops composed of cocaine and other "'caine's" are used by the eye Dr. to relieve pain. But depending on the type and severity of the injury, you may be hard pressed to get any to take home w/you or prescribed because the drops mask the normal pain reflex and would have you going about your business as if nothing were wrong- until the drops wore off, that is. Then you'll be the worse for wear, causing you to reach for the drops again. And again... until permanent damage was done.

A brief search seems to indicate Proparacaine 0.5% is one of the preferred topical ophthalmic anesthetics. But whether you could (or should) get some prescribed for a UV burn is questionable.
 
#149 ·
This got me to thinking about the bottle of Pontocain I have from years ago so I looked at it just a bit ago and it is of course ruined, (8 years out of expiration! :rolleyes: ) but then I would not have used old medicine like that anyway, it was just left over in an old first aid kit with some of my other old shop stuff and I had neglected to throw it away (I will toss the entire kit as everything in it is old). When I opened the bottle and poured some out in a lid it had had formed crystals that were small enough to have been picked up in the dropper and transferred to the eyes if someone had of attempted to use this stuff. While this was just left over junk from my old shop and there was never any danger of anyone using it someone may be tempted to use out-of-date drops and from what I see here that could be extremely dangerous! I have no doubt that these drops that had crystallized would have caused harm if used, just wanted to pass on another warning in case someone has some old medicine on hand. This is just one more good reason not to treat a flash burn at home.
 
#150 ·
jus4fishin signing in ta howdey!

Jus signing in ta say what up! My Condolence to Powerrodsmike! @ answer about burning eyes! My wife was a surgical nurse for a Ophthalmologist, if you can talk a sweetheart that work's at one try to talk her out of sum. But you're going to give you're life away almost. That or a Druggist. You use 2-3 drops,and you can take your own eyes out and set them on the night stand till the next morning. Well Hello and Thanks!
Jus4fishin. Say's his Howday!
 
#151 ·
jus4fishin said:
Jus signing in ta say what up! My Condolence to Powerrodsmike! @ answer about burning eyes! My wife was a surgical nurse for a Ophthalmologist, if you can talk a sweetheart that work's at one try to talk her out of sum. But you're going to give you're life away almost. That or a Druggist. You use 2-3 drops,and you can take your own eyes out and set them on the night stand till the next morning. Well Hello and Thanks!
Jus4fishin. Say's his Howday!
:drunk: :drunk: :drunk: :drunk:
 
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