Arc eye

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Arc eye Classification and external resources
ICD-10	H16.1
ICD-9	370.24

Arc eye, also known as arc flash, welder's flash, corneal flash burns, or flash burns, is a painful ocular condition sometimes experienced by welders who have failed to use adequate eye protection. It can also occur due to using tanning beds without proper eyewear, excessive sun exposure, light reflected from snow (known as snow blindness), water or sand. The intense ultraviolet light absorbed by the eye causes a superficial and painful keratitis.

Symptoms tend to occur a number of hours after exposure and typically resolve spontaneously within 36 hours. The sensation has been described as having sand poured into the eyes.

Although it is possible for defects in specific types of industrial lighting to cause the same problem, this phenomenon can not be caused by simple over-illumination as commonly found in many factory and office environments.

[edit] Signs

• Intense lacrimation
• Blepharospasm
• Photophobia [1]
• Fluorescein dye staining will reveal corneal ulcers under blue light
• Constricted pupils note: this symptom may last as long as 96 to 128 hours in some cases.

[edit] Management

• Instill topical anaesthesia
• Inspect the cornea for any foreign body
• Patch the worse of the two eyes and prescribe analgesia
• Topical antibiotics in the form of eye drops or eye ointment or both should be prescribed for prophylaxis against infection

[edit] External links

WikiProject Metalworking
Welding
Arc welding: Shielded metal (MMA) | Gas metal (MIG) | Flux-cored | Submerged | Gas tungsten (TIG) | Plasma
Other processes: Oxyfuel | Resistance | Spot | Forge | Ultrasonic | Electron beam | Laser beam
Equipment: Power supply | Electrode | Shielding gas | Robot
Related: Heat-affected zone | Weldability | Residual stress | Arc eye | Underwater welding
See also: Brazing | Soldering | Metalworking | Fabrication | Casting | Machining | Metallurgy | Jewelry

v • d • e Eye disease - pathology of the eye (primarily H00-H59, 360-379) Eyelid, lacrimal system and orbit eyelid: inflammation (Stye, Chalazion, Blepharitis) - Entropion - Ectropion - Lagophthalmos - Blepharochalasis - Ptosis - Blepharophimosis - Xanthelasma - Trichiasis lacrimal system: Dacryoadenitis - Epiphora - Dacryocystitis orbit: Exophthalmos - Enophthalmos Conjunctiva Conjunctivitis - Pterygium - Pinguecula - Subconjunctival hemorrhage Sclera and cornea Scleritis - Keratitis - Corneal ulcer - Snow blindness - Thygeson's superficial punctate keratopathy - Fuchs' dystrophy - Keratoconus - Keratoconjunctivitis sicca - Arc eye - Keratoconjunctivitis - Corneal neovascularization - Kayser-Fleischer ring - Arcus senilis - Band keratopathy Iris and ciliary body Iritis - Uveitis - Iridocyclitis - Hyphema - Persistent pupillary membrane - Iridodialysis - Synechia Lens Cataract - Aphakia - Ectopia lentis Choroid and retina Birdshot chorioretinopathy - Retinitis - Chorioretinitis - Choroideremia - Retinal detachment - Retinoschisis - Retinopathy (Bietti's crystalline dystrophy, Coats disease, Diabetic retinopathy, Hypertensive retinopathy, Retinopathy of prematurity) - Macular degeneration - Retinitis pigmentosa - Retinal haemorrhage - Central serous retinopathy - Macular edema - Epiretinal membrane - Macular pucker - Vitelliform macular dystrophy - Leber's congenital amaurosis Optic nerve and visual pathways Optic neuritis - Papilledema - Optic atrophy - Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy - Dominant optic atrophy - Optic disc drusen - Glaucoma - Toxic and nutritional optic neuropathy - Anterior ischemic optic neuropathy Ocular muscles, binocular movement, accommodation and refraction Paralytic strabismus: Ophthalmoparesis - Progressive external ophthalmoplegia - Palsy (III, IV, VI) - Kearns-Sayre syndrome Other strabismus: Esotropia/Exotropia - Hypertropia - Heterophoria (Esophoria, Exophoria) - Brown's syndrome - Duane syndrome Other binocular: Conjugate gaze palsy - Convergence insufficiency - Internuclear ophthalmoplegia - One and a half syndrome Refractive error: Hyperopia/Myopia - Astigmatism - Anisometropia/Aniseikonia - Presbyopia Visual disturbances and blindness Amblyopia - Leber's congenital amaurosis - Subjective (Asthenopia, Hemeralopia, Photophobia, Scintillating scotoma) - Diplopia - Scotoma - Anopsia (Binasal hemianopsia, Bitemporal hemianopsia, Homonymous hemianopsia, Quadrantanopia) - Color blindness (Achromatopsia) - Nyctalopia (Oguchi disease) - Blindness/Low vision Pupil Anisocoria - Argyll Robertson pupil - Marcus Gunn pupil/Marcus Gunn phenomenon - Adie syndrome Infectious diseases Trachoma - Onchocerciasis Other Nystagmus - Miosis - Mydriasis - Glaucoma - Ocular hypertension - Floater - Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy - Red eye - Keratomycosis - Xerophthalmia - Aniridia See also congenital