Helmets and Eye probs

[Thomas]

Hi all, Im new to this new hobart board format so please bear w/me. I have been experinceing eye pain for the last 3mos. They feel like I burned them. Someone said Im welding to much. I use a full face auto darking helmet That is a shade #10. I am very carful to protect my eyes all the time. Is it poss that #10 is not dark enough. Doctors cant find anything wrong. I am getting frusterated. Any ideas would be apprieciated. Thanks.
Thomas

[Mark Whiddon]

Hi Thomas,
When you say you have had eye problems for 3 mo., is that constantly for 3 months straight?without ever getting any relief? Welding burns generally (at least for me) onset is generally within 5hrs of welding and last for 2-4 days. Essentially it is a sunburn of the eyes,and then it goes away. Blue eyed people are more likely to burn their eyes (I am blue eyed). Here is what I have found out after having the same problem with my eyes. If you are welding with a wire welder the arc is brighter (at least to me). 1 if you are welding inside , you should wear a dark colored shirt with long sleeves. The arc WILL relfect up off your chest and into your eyes behind the helmet. TRUST ME ON THIS. Dark colored clothing absorbs rather than reflects the light. It is also possible for you to have the arc light reflecting off of the walls of the shop if they are white. 2 welding outside is much less likely to burn your eyes (why I am not sure). My feeling is that the light is not bouncing around as much as it is in an enclosed area. 3. Make sure the batteries in your helmet are good and charged. I have been a stick welder (hobby) for years and never even burned my eyes once (welded mostly outdoors). I bought a wire welder about 8 months ago (1st one) and immediately started burning my eyes. I thought my helmet was bad because I had just bought it 3 months before that. Through this board and the people at lincoln (my helmet is a lincoln) I was able to trace the problem to reflecting arc light and have not burned my eyes since. If you have a constant burn in your eyes, do not weld at all for a week and see if it clears up. If it does try the dark clothing(prefferably black shirt) and see if that helps.
Mark

[BillC]

Hi Thomas,

I am only a student welder, and only weld 3hrs a night Monday and Tuesday nights. I use an autodarkening Hobart Hood and I keep it on setting 9 so I can see what I am doing.

That said, the hoods protect against UV regardless of the darkness shade. Mark makes good suggestions regarding reflection of the arc. What I do is wear a pair of clear safety glasses under my hood when I weld. They provide a second layer of 99% UV shielding... good protection from my own reflections and for when I have my hood up and am susceptible to reflections from the students in the neighboring booths.

I recall a thread on this list where a weldor felt he was getting burned in one eye only. He replaced the hood and the burning went away. It is possible that your hood has a defective UV coating...

Don't mess around with this!

[Bob]

Simple but effective check would be to avoid welding or being around it for a week or ten days. If it persists, get thee to an eye doctor.
Then at least you know whether it is the welding. The reflected light theory sounds good. I had "sandy eyes" several times after 3hr of gas welding class followed by 3 hr of electric, one day a week in college. After the first experience I was extra careful about the rules, but it still happened once in a while.
Bob

[Hobart Expert Rock]

HI THOMAS............IT IS UNCLEAR TO ME RATHER YOU HAVE A FIXED #10 OR AN AUTO DARKENING HOOD........IF IT IS FIXED TRY A DARKER SHADE, IF IT IS AUTO TURN THE TIME UP FASTER AND SET IT TO A DARKER SHADE............ IF YOUR DOCTOR COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH YOUR EYES......... SHALL WE TRY A SECOND OPINION......... I'M BLUE EYED AND I HURT MY EYES I GO SEE A DOCTOR...................THERE IS SOMETHING CAUSEING THIS DISCOMFORT.................. CHECK IT OUT YOU ONLY GET ONE SET OF EYES FOR LIFE (NORMALLY), EXCLUDEING EYE TRANSPLANTS $$$$$$$ I DON'T THINK I WOULD BE MESSING AROUND HERE................REMEMBER BE SAFE OUT THERE,..............ROCK

[John Stuckey]

Thomas:
Getting a second opinion is a good idea. I would call around and ask if the eye doc has experience with welding issues - knows what the environment is like (reflected light, etc) and is familiar with welding helments. I would take the helment to the doctor's appointment along with the suggestions produced by the folks in this forum. I would also look for an opthalmologist (MD) versus an optometrist (does refractions mostly). You may have to be firm with the appointment taker at the doc's office about questioning the doc's experience but its your eyes and money not the appointment taker's!
Your sight is too precious to not take the extra effort to find a doc with appropriate experience to protect it.
John
Licensed Dispensing Optician, Ohio

[Bob]

More Input.

You might want to try this with the helmet. Hold an incandectent light in front of it to trip the auto dark. Then from a ways behind it, look thru at a brightly (sunlight) scene. Some non-uniformity is OK, but not too much.
You might not see this with the helmet on, because your eyes are closer.

Bob

Later thought.
Might be a special sensitivity to smoke and fumes from a particular type of welding process?

[Guest]

Re: Helmets and Eye probs

Originally posted by Thomas
Hi all, Im new to this new hobart board format so please bear w/me. I have been experinceing eye pain for the last 3mos. They feel like I burned them. Someone said Im welding to much. I use a full face auto darking helmet That is a shade #10. I am very carful to protect my eyes all the time. Is it poss that #10 is not dark enough. Doctors cant find anything wrong. I am getting frusterated. Any ideas would be apprieciated. Thanks.
Thomas

Other than flashburn, ther are a couple of things that will cause this also...one major one is eye strain...could be caused by dirty cover plate, and maybe you have eyes that don't see well with a shade 10, then try a nine. Some of those auto dark helmets don't give you a true #10...may actually be 11.

Just a thought

[pajoube]

I have not seen any comments regarding how fast it goes from auto darkening to normal light when you stop welding. Is it as fast as going to darkening?
PJ

[Guest]

Originally posted by pajoube
I have not seen any comments regarding how fast it goes from auto darkening to normal light when you stop welding. Is it as fast as going to darkening?
PJ

Yes, just as fast. I occasionally forget to turn my Speedglas hood on, and even then, no flashburn. They take some getting used to, but are great in the long run.

[Roger]

Better more expensive auto darkening filters have adjustable delay before lightening after arc light is gone. Speed of change to dark or to light is about same faster than you can blink.