By Gerald J. Smith. Last Updated: July 20, 2021

Welding Without Mask – Things you need Know

Welding is a vital technique for joining 2 metal pieces with filler metals or other binders. But do not take welding for granted – it’d send you reeling with a slew of serious effects. Welding without mask covering is a key way where welders could get hurt over time. So if you are on assuring a safe welding experience, employing the right precautions is vital. Lots of welding machine operators are tried to go mask less. But the negatives impacts could outweigh the simplicity mask-free welding affords.
In this article, we will take look at several serious effects of welding without a mask.

Side effects of welding without a mask

Something you mightn’t know is that, when you weld, UV radiations are not ones that hit you. Those radiations are already bad enough for your skin health since they might boost the chances of your developing skin cancer. Though, infrared radiation is also one more thing that gets in contact with your body.
Here is the catch – infrared radiation is what cooks a meal in a microwave. What does this all mean?
The human body absorbs infrared radiation, and though the effects are neither visible nor serious, we would still recommend wearing a safety helmet.

Its well-known name is welder’s flash and it is the most common side effect of welding without a helmet. The welding ARC generates UV radiation that hits your eyes directly causing inflammation of the cornea. This is very common why your eyes hurt after welding without a safety helmet on.
But be careful – you might not experience the symptoms or problems right away since it can take up to a few hours for them to manifest. Some of the most common symptoms of ARC eye in welder include pain or pressure and unusual watering of the eyes, difficulty in looking in lighting, and reddening of the area around the pupils.

No need to get worried right now. Though loss of sight is a very serious problem, it only gets to that if you have been working without any welding safety glasses for a long time, repeatedly. Other main issues are cataracts and issue seeing all you look at, but you can avoid entire of this with the correct equipment. Soon, we are going to explain what that is.

Welding jobs to an extreme level, and for this cause, if you are not careful about your jobs, you might experience welding burn. The heat the welding ARC emits can hurt your skin with small burns can cause blisters. In few cases, it can also singe your eyebrows or facial air. It is also not news that act of welding machines generates sparks. If you do not wear a welding helmet and a spark hits your skin, you might feel some more serious burns. No to mention that, if the extreme spark hits your eye straightly, it can lead to permanent blindness.

The act of welding procedure smoke when doing welding work, and that smoke can compromise your lungs and respiratory system. Welding without a welding mask can have side effects on your breathing which include throat irritation as well as dizziness if you breathe the only fumes for short period.

Though, if you breathe the fumes for a long time, the damage might lead to larynx and lung cancer. Not to mention it’d also damage the body's nervous system and your kidneys. Keep in mind you can still experience some of these side effects if you wear a welding mask but you weld without a reparatory.

After describing the major side effects you can encounter when doing welding without a mask. I strongly advise taking the essential measurements in order to avoid serious damages to your health. I am not going to explain how you can protect yourself during welding against UV rays as well as burns and fumes. Be always certain to know that what you're doing before starting to weld.

Gears for the safe welding process

Auto dim welding helmet

Welding safety helmets differ in their functions and features. But when need to ensure near-perfect eye protection when doing welding, you need an auto-dim welding helmet. It comes with a lens patented to give support against ARC rays. Automatic dim welding helmet leverage sensors adjusted across the head gear’s surface.

Signals from the welding ARC rays get to the sensor in fractions of seconds. Some sensors are rated to give alerts for the dimming support in 1/25000th of a second!

With this accurate signal transmitted to your helmet’s lens, there is a lesser chance of adverse effects from the direct ARC rays. Automatic dim welding helmets also come with shade switching features targeted at protecting against many ARC light intensities. Apart from the apparent advantages welding helmets offer, they’re also best for assuring complete face and neck protection during welding jobs.

Respirator

With the capability to filter welding fumes from your safety helmet, respirators are the perfect safe network equipment. Most respirators come with filters that can be simply changed below your headgear for limiting rough fumes. Respirators are indispensable in any sort of welding process, especially for big-scale jobs. Welders working in a close environment can also leverage the respirator’s features to their full benefit.

Does welding damage your eyes?

Welding produces 3 types of radiation that can damage your eyes, the visible spectrum, UV radiation, and infrared are not the only harmful effects of welding. Sharp light from welding arcs can acquire absorbed into the welder’s cornea, lens, and iris and might cause eye swelling.

What occurs if you look at a light during welding?

Directly looking at light during welding from a small distance can cause eye damage that can go from pain, dizziness, and redness of the eyes, if you look for a short period, to more serve consequences such as blindness and retinal damage if you repeatedly look for a long time. You might also feel minor burns on your skin due to the severe heat.

What occurs if you weld without a helmet?

Welding without a safety mask has a number of adverse effects that’d be long-lasting. Welders can suffer Photokeratitis also named welder’s fish or spatter burns on our face, exposure to fumes, etc. Avoid welding without a safety mask as temporary or permanent blindness could be the outcome.

Conclusion

Here were the major things you have to take into account before selecting to weld without a proper welding safety mask. Welding safety is vital if you are planning on continuing to weld and if you care about our health and sight.
The final words are – wear a welding safety helmet to protect your eyes, skin, and respiratory system from permanent and serious damages. Also keep in mind that a mask is not the single safety measure you’ve to take sleeves, glasses, shoulder protections, and gloves as just as vital.