Do I have Arc/Tig eye?

[Jan]

Consult your GP. You may just have some conjunctivitis in that eye. I've been suffering from it for over a year with similar reactions to yourself. My GP has prescribed several types of drops to eliminate it without any real improvement, but it seems to be slowly putting itself right. Cold, wind, dust, bright lights all seem to exacerbate the extent of the condition and after a strong reaction it continues to weep overnight such that I have to bathe the eye in the morning to open it. The only thing I do that reduces the effects of it is to wear my 30 day disposable contact lenses in favor of my spectacles. Unfortunately being short sighted I then have to wear reading glasses under my auto helmet to see well enough to weld, whereas I would otherwise just remove my distance glasses.

 

[Paul G]

Looks like a severe case of photoshop to me.

 

[Richard.]

Arc eye is unmistakable and usually symptoms occur 4-8 hours after the inititial flash. The arc rays cannot travel through perspect screen whether it's working or not. If you have got it you will start to feel like there is grit in the eye, this will follow by serious sensitivity to light , even the light of a small flame will cause discomfort, pain then sets in which feels like it's coming from the back of your eyes. It will hurt when you open them or close them, there will be swelling around the eyes and they will be blood shot and streaming with tears. I'm speaking from experience and learnt my lesson. There are many tales such as tea bags, and flannels etc that you hear from people but I found they don't work. The best cure if you do get it is to try and get your head down in a dark room. Seek medical advice if it's really bad.

 

[tflnemesis]

My first and last case of arc eye, I had been welding an old rover 213 floor pan on the inside with a handheld mask... . That night i woke up feeling like someone had thrown a handful of sand in each eye and extreme sensitivity to any light. I ended up wearing really dark sunglasses for a week even indoors with all the curtains shut. Not something i would ever want to happen again. Can definitely tell the difference between that and conjunctivitis...