Looks like good thread placement to me Kent.

The old potato trick may help with the after effects but the main problem is the lack of protection to start with. Even clear safety glasses help with a quick flash or two.
The "sand in the eye" feeling is not a pleasant one....BTDT along time ago. As a kid learning to strike off a 7018 I couldn't get it through my thick skull that when the rod stuck, I shouldn't lift my shield when wiggling/breaking the rod a loose from the material.

Hello Kent,

Always a pertinent topic of discussion especially in the safety section.

Have not heard of anything in particular that has been developed that will help any better to relieve the after effects.

As John stated, since we are talking about being safe, protecting our whole body and especially in this case our eyes so we don't have to quit welding because we were foolish and 'tough' then the idea is safety before the problem.

Again true from John, even clear safety glasses refract much of the harmful rays so that the 'flash' does not occur.  The newer wrap around glasses are really good to protect from arcs from other welders to the side and even slightly behind the direction you are facing. 

One should do a regular check of hood, weld lens, and seal around lens to make sure no arc rays are getting through. 

Other workers in the area should have safety glasses and a full face shield with at least a mild tinting.  I generally try to get the lenses in a low cutting rating like a 3.  Yes, full face shields can be bought with burn ratings.  Makes good protection for grinders and other helpers.  If the shop is bright enough or the work is outside it helps act as 'sun glasses' for other brightness that would cause squinting and sore eyes as well.

When outside in bright sun I have even worn shade 3 safety glasses and then turn the auto hood shade down a little to compensate while welding.  Don't have to keep changing glasses that way, works for all situations.  The more they are on the face the less likely you are to get flashed.

He Is In Control, Have a Great Day,  Brent

Good wrap-around Z87 safety glasses are 99.9 UV protection.

Each layer of weld lens and cover lens are 99.9 UV protection.

Anybody with an eye burn is not wearing proper PPE.

It's important to have a good tight fit on the side shields so that reflected flash from behind is eliminated.

Welding since 1983... Zero flash burns

thank you my friends
this was welding related, but not
one of the kids dumb friends
works at a yogurt plant
welders were fixing a pipe
they thought oooooooooooooohhhhhhh look at the pretty light
so they had NO knowledge of welding safety
so gave the potato trick to help
but thought I would check on new stuff
thank you again my friends
sincerely,
Kent

I have been told that the old potato trick does not work. You are better off going to the hospital and getting some medicine prescribed than trying that method.

On or off, your welding lenses provide UV protection.  At least two layers... One from the clear cover plate, and two from the quick change auto-dark assembly (on or off).

A third layer of UV protection is provided by the safety glasses you should be wearing under your hood.

So unless reflected light is entering from under or behind your hood, arc burn should not be an issue.

Having said that... If there is pain... If your eyes feel like there are hot grains of sand in them... Stop what you are doing and see your doctor.

From my personal experience if you weld all day and get arc flashed you will generally feel it that evening. A tightening of the skin around the eyes, like you've been out in the sun all day and got sunburnt. Blinking more and some irritation will set in. Figuring you're tired you go to bed. In the middle of the night you wake up to "AHHHHHH!!!!"

I have some eye drops from the doc, lubrication drops of some sort. Burns at first application but works to help relieve the sand in the eyes. As Al said I believe, the eyes are super fast healing. They used their little drill on mine and fine the next day. The eye burn by the time you notice it should be gone within 12-24 hours. I'm not doctor but I think this would depend on the severity also. There was a guy in tech school that literally and this is a no b.s, Gods honest truth, welded in his booth without a hood. I don't know how long he attempted this but the next day his eyes were seriously messed up. Don't think he finished that quarter, not the brightest bulb in the box for obvious reasons. Burns to the eyes like that idiot would likely take a bit longer than 24 hours.

I wear safety glasses but it seem no matter what I do, other than swim goggles foreign objects find their way thru my hood, around my glasses and into my eyes. I've worn the ANSI type goggles with the foam and have had a piece of grinding debris hit me in the cheek area under my eye, ricochet under the foam and hit me in the eye, drill used by doc to remove it and rust ring.

I thought they suggested not wearing contacts while welding? Should use glasses? I thought I heard or read about this one time. Not sure of the reasoning behind it(20/20 here).

Put cucumber slices over each eye, then apply mud pack around the face...no wait, forget that.

There is no quick way.  Pain can last 24 hrs.

Tyrone