Pink Eye or Eye Irritation

[wnbresn]

My wife Cindy is the lampworker in the family. At least once a month she gets an eye irritation that looks like pink eye. It happens at anytime no matter what type of glass she is using or if she is using silver or not. We thought at first it might be caused by improper venilation so we bought a good sized hood and mounted it in front of the touch venting to the outdoors about 4 feet away. You can tell when the vent fan is on because it will pull the torch flame towards it. She always has her glasses on and frankly we are stumped as to how to stop it. Any one got any ideas? Could it be that her glasses are not blocking the UV glare?? Thanks for any info.

[nagibeads]

hi-
she may have dry eyes--try some artificial tears every now and then when she is at the torch.
please keep an eye on it(pun not intentional LOL!) and see a doctor if it continues......
I have a pterygium(can be caused by excessive eye irritation or overexposure to UV radiation). It started out with my eye getting red on the nose side part of the eye and now it has formed a growth over part of my iris. It's permanent(unless i want surgery) and doc says it is partially because I let my eyes get too dry. So please, keep those eyes moist!

[Amybeads]

I am very interested in knowing the answer also. I have been having the same problem and can't figure out why.

Amy

[RSimmons]

I was having a 'dry eye' sort of problem for a while. I started using a lubricant eye drop (Refresh Plus) from time to time and the problem went away. I buy boxes of single dose tubes to be sure to avoid contamination of the drops over time. Lubricant-type eye drops are the thing to use, not something like allergy eye drops (tetrahydrozoline, etc.) which will probably make things worse in this case.

The problem is more likely related to air flow and radiant heat. Soft glass doesn't generate much in the UV spectrum at all and UV damage tends to be more severe. Some of the borosilicate colors generate UV when heated enough, but proper eyewear should filter that out.

Robert

[jaci]

Did she ever have pink eye? did she torch then? It might be the glasses.... (it might not be) but give the a good cleaning!!!! sanitize in peroxide/rubbing alcho. make sure to get all the hinges and small places! (i think they should have this done anyways periodiocly).
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PORTABLE HERBAL VAPORIZER REVIEW

[Kevan]

People dont blink enough when they are concentrated on tasks at a close range like torching.

Dry eyes. Get some lubricant eye drops or ointment. Over the counter stuff.