Welding Eyes Long Term. The technical term for for welding burns is photokeratitis. To put that into perspective fully 95 of welders sustaining eye injuries are back at work within a week while over 50 return within two days.
OM causes vision loss and can be fatal as the malignant tumor spreads throughout the body to the liver lungs and bones. Thats why it is sometimes called welders flash or arc eye. In some cases long-term exposure will produce cataracts in their eyes causing blurred vision and in worst cases ocular melanoma OM can form.
While the damage is not permanent the pain can be severe.
Visible light from welding processes is very bright and can overwhelm the ability of the iris of the eye to close sufficiently and rapidly enough to limit the brightness of the light reaching the retina. Prolonged and repeated exposure to UV waves may lead to long-term vision problems including cataracts which can lead to partial or total blindness. Macular degeneration and cataracts are the long-term effects of welding on eyes. These cumulative adverse effects happen for some welders who get exposed to UV light for an extended period.