Arc Eye

[wookie]

Does anyone get an "arc-eye" reflex with LED daytime running lights? My eyes get drawn to the "arc" then I find myself putting a hand up to shield them from it; happens when walking or driving.

Not only are LED's a point light source which effectively increases the perceived brightness but most are PWM driven which means they are switched on & off rapidly so if your susceptible to flicker they can be really irritating.

I've started wearing Vista mesh glasses as they help with flicker, before that LED screens especially would give me a migraine after as little as 1 hour, so not only could I not use my laptop for long but the flatscreen TV would do the same.

 

[Wedg1e]

I stick-welded a pair of loudspeaker stands from 1" angle when I was 24. Couldn't see what i was doing through the borrowed mask so decided to use my dad's gas welding glasses.
Woke up about 0400 feeling like my eyes were full of red-hot sand. By daylight my eyes were streaming non-stop and that persisted throughout the day. I had to wear sunglasses for three days (in February!) if I went outside.
Never done it again
Still have the speaker stands, over quarter of a century later

 

[dunk]

i got a arc eye many years ago when i was in my teens, cor it was damn sore, ended up in the eye hospital, eyes washed out and drops put in (orange colour ) and an eye patch over one eye, to this day i still have a tiny black spot/smudge i can see when i look at certain brightish things, for days after though my eyes felt like grit or sand had been thrown into them.
the mask was ok, it was the user (me), when just starting the weld i would look to see if i was in right spot, only i was not quick enough to get mask to face,

my dad who was a welder said your gonna get bad eyes trying to weld like that and catching flashes, but me being young and knowing everything about life said i`ll be ok there`s not many besides my eyes are tough,.........i got that wrong.... my dad said see i told you but you young uns dont listen

 

[arthur]

A good dose of Arc Eye will lead you to wanting to dig your eyes out with a spoon and soothing them in a bowl of cool water! Last time I had a proper dose I can only be thankful that my eyes healed shut and light was unable to enter, when you do peal them open you only want to glue them shut again any how

 

[colnerov]

Hi, the reason you get it worse at 3 or 4 in the morning is because that is when you go into REM (rapid Eye Movement) sleep and it irritates the eye on the back of the eyelid. As said light pressure on them helps, I roll up a handkerchief and lay it across them, then I lay on my back and just doze. I'm lucky in that I can't sleep on my back and don't go back into REM sleep.

I have heard you have to be extra careful if you wear contact lenses because it can burn the lens onto the eyeball.

Colin

 

[CompoSimmonite]

I've had arc eye once - and that was enough. Ended up in A&E. Two weeks off work at home with curtains drawn and having to wear an eye patch. Then several hospital follow up visits to check no permanent damage.
BTW ball of MIG splatter in ear that perforates the drum isn't much fun either - year of hospital visits & reduced hearing due to scar tissue !

 

[Tinbasherdan]

I've had it once, in one eye, caught a flash walking through a workshop and boom, done. Last spot I was at the site manager got an absolute beaut in both eyes as he apparently didn't realise you should stand 2 foot away from your welder watching the arc. He genuinely thought he was going blind, I just laughed

 

[Wedg1e]

BTW ball of MIG splatter in ear that perforates the drum isn't much fun either - year of hospital visits & reduced hearing due to scar tissue !

My mate went diving with a cold many years ago... trying to come back up he couldn't get the pressure in his ears to equalise and had no choice but to carry on up until his eardrum ruptured.
He said it was a bit sore... but preferable to drowning.

 

[Mills]

If anyone is interested I was okay (doubtful though)!
Had a bit of itchiness but that might have just been the cat but no pain.
For future reference, are you okay as log as you don't look directly at the arc or does an arc in your peripheral vision give you arc eye?

 

[Richard.]

No of course not. You can get arc eye in the corners of your eyes you can it from reflecting off shiny surfaces and bright walls.
Don't try and find out what you can and can't get away with. If you are any where near guys welding then wear some rap around safety glasses. (Not glass)
Perspex ones are just the job. Arc rays cannot travel through it.

 

[hotrodder]

I have heard you have to be extra careful if you wear contact lenses because it can burn the lens onto the eyeball.

That's an old wives tale. Cannot, will not, ever happen. If/when contact lenses are banned from workshops etc it'll be for other reasons like them not offering any protection against arc eye or foreign objects but can possibly aggravate an eye injury
Arc eye = photokeratitis aka snow blindness. Akin to sunburn but to the cornea instead of skin and the delayed pain is akin to a peeling sunburn except it's the cornea that's 'peeling'.
Flash blindness is more common and different and the result of bright light oversaturating the retina... a camera flash/bright headlights is annoying, things like welding arcs or flash bang grenades are brighter and longer duration so the effects can last longer. Dunno if solar retinopathy is a longer term/permanent version of flash blindness or refers to a different type of retinal damage but AIUI apart from staring at a solar eclipse you'd have to force yourself to stare at something uncomfortably bright to risk getting it