There is no place being reckless in any welding activities. Even if you are doing some home projects like fixing the garden fence or joining some metals for fun with your cheap welding machine, there is no place for being reckless.
A few seconds of your bare skin & eyes exposure can cause extreme discomfort and pain. The chances of long term health risks like cancer are also high.
Thankfully, there are some home remedies for arc burn caused by welding that can resolve the problem quickly. Whether you weld professionally or as a hobby, learning these home remedies is highly important for you.
These arc burn remedies are proved to be effective and recommended by a lot of experienced welders. However, I strongly encourage you visiting your doctor before or after you apply these remedies to see how serious the issue is.
8 Home Remedies For Arc Burn Caused By Welding
You may need some stuff to perform these home remedies. However, I am pretty sure almost all of them are available in your home. Remember, you need to act fast whenever you are a victim of arc burn.
If you don’t act fast, there will be an infection in your eyes. If there is an infection, go to your doctor immediately and these home remedies no longer apply to you. You should only follow your doctor’s instruction then.
- Try Organic Pain Relievers
The momentum result of arc burn is severe pain. Some organic/natural ingredients can quickly relieve you from such extreme pain. Do you know what contains natural aspirin?
Yes, I am talking about the willow bark; the ingredients of which contain natural aspirin. Try some of these and let the pain heal naturally.
Also, you can try cloves and turmeric for the same result. They are available at every home. The substances of cloves are full of pain relieving properties. And the turmeric is famous to reduce the inflammation from the arc burn.
- Use Artificial Tears
Well, you have seen these artificial tears in many cinemas. Luckily they are available for the mass people too. There are various kinds of them depending on their ingredients. Such tears can prevent your eyes from becoming dry.
Ultimately, it helps to reduce the pain as well. Artificial tears reduce the time interval to reduce the pain. Some prominent brands of such tears are Systane, Genteal, Visine, and Refresh. Try any one of them.
- Try Sunglasses
Whereas you auto-darkening welding helmet could prevent the arc eye in the first place, wearing the sunglasses can prevent it from further damages. The sunglasses alone are very effective to block the UV rays from the sunlight.
But the effectiveness of your sunglasses largely depends on the brand of it. So, it’s very important that you choose a prominent and trusted brand. I must warn you about something too.
No matter how good your sunglasses are blocking the UV rays, don’t go outside much with your arc eyes.
- Ice Pack To Reduce Pain
Ice packs are not only good at relieving any kind of pain from the burn but pretty good enough to relieve the pain of your arc eye too. It’s the oldest treatment that works all the time.
It’s very simple to use. Just hold the ice pack for 5 to 10 minutes at a time over your eyes. Do this again and again when the pain kicks in. But don’t overdo it as you might get cold.
- The Banana Pulp Treatment
It’s not just good food; a banana is also a natural pain reliever for the arc eyes too. It helps your eyes in two ways. Since banana contains vitamin B-12, it’s very effective to heal your eyes.
Again, the banana pulp prevents the dryness of your eyes. You should seriously think about this treatment since there are bananas at every home across the U.S.
- The Rose Water Treatment
They are not just the symbol of love and beauty; water enriched with rose extract can heal the pain of your arc eyes too. You need to be extra careful though to apply this treatment.
Whereas rose water significantly reduce the pain & inflammation, it can hurt your eyes too if it contains an additive. You do not want to have irritating welding eye burn. So buy only that rose water from the market that explicitly displays no additive is mixed.
They do exist in the market; all you have to do is to carefully read the ingredients of the rose water.
- Use Wet Towel With Cold Water
Like the ice bag treatment, the wet towel treatment is also popular to use against any burns. It is highly recommended to treat the arc eyes as well. It quickly relieves the excruciating pain & inflammation to the eyes.
Just soak the soft towel in cold water and hold it over the eyes. Do this several times a day. Make sure water is not dripping from the towel and the water you use has to be pure and just plain water.
- Apply Cucumber Slices
I have mentioned this method in my other articles. With its really effective cooling properties, it can quickly relieve the pain and reduce the redness of your arc eyes.
Before you can apply the cucumber, clean the good with pail water and put the cucumber into the fridge and let it cool for a while for the better result. Then slice it into multiple pieces and cover your eyes with those slices. Definitely, you will benefit from it. I promise!
Burns & Welding Helmet
Even you are wearing the helmet during the welding, the UV rays and spark can burn your eyes and leave arc eyes if you are not wearing the right kind of helmet with the right lenses.
Whereas MIG welding requires #10 lenses, TIG requires #11 filter lenses. And for the arc welding, the requirement is #12 lenses.
So, choose the right helmet with right lenses depending on what types of welding you are onto. Only the right number of lenses for your visor can prevent the painful retinal flash burn. To avoid such flash burn and to avoid slags, wearing a welding jacket is also recommended.
Conclusion
Apart from those above-mentioned home remedies for arc burn caused by welding, there are some other treatments like applying used tea bags, almond oil, and so on. Some pain relief medicines like the paracetamol, codeine, aspirin, and ibuprofen may be applied under doctor’s prescription strictly.