danielm3

This is kind of a weird question but does anyone on here weld who has had the Lasik eye surgery done? I want to get this done but i am worried it won't let me weld...

2kjettaguy

This doesn't answer your question, but it is related....

my buddie's dad just went in for laser eye surgery and they said he couldn't have it done because he has too many microscopic pieces of metal in his eyes. Old school type of guy, no gloves no glasses.

Wear your safety glasses guys!

(I don't think eye surgery will have any effect on your welding besides making it better. You probably want to lay off welding for a week or so afterwards. Ask the doc )

danielm3

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 2kjettaguy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">This doesn't answer your question, but it is related....

my buddie's dad just went in for laser eye surgery and they said he couldn't have it done because he has too many microscopic pieces of metal in his eyes. Old school type of guy, no gloves no glasses.

Wear your safety glasses guys!

(I don't think eye surgery will have any effect on your welding besides making it better. You probably want to lay off welding for a week or so afterwards. Ask the doc )</TD></TR></TABLE>

Thanks for the reply. I have an appointment soon and wanted to see if maybe i can get an answer here so I don't waste my time going if I can't.

LordAphotic

wow... thanks for saying that 2kjetta.... ive been welding the old school way too... just positioning myself then shutting my eyes and welding with memory...

as for lasik im probably gona get it too and this is a good question.....
it sucks cause i need to be able to weld but at the same time i would love to be able to see without glasses or contacts...... I think best bet would be to call a lasik office..... and post the answer please cause i wanna know too... but right now i cant afford the lasik so it will be a while for me anyways...

beepy

FYI: The military is now letting pilots get Lasik eye surgery. If there is any profession that wouldn't let you do it, that is the one, so I would say Lasik is perfectly safe for any profession.

Foowee

I have had lasik. I was not told or given any special instruction about welding after lasik. I have stick and mig welded a few times since the operation, about two years ago, with no probems. This has been my experience.

I'd say just ask during your consultation appt. I'd also like to know what they have to say.

fyi if you have a flex spending account and you don't like your job you can get lasik done for free. I don't really feel like typing out the details, but if you fall into this category, let me know and it may just muster enough energy for me to type the rest of the story....

adictionbass

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by beepy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">FYI: The military is now letting pilots get Lasik eye surgery. If there is any profession that wouldn't let you do it, that is the one, so I would say Lasik is perfectly safe for any profession.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

hmmm.... may have just given me an idea...

rob...

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by LordAphotic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">wow... thanks for saying that 2kjetta.... ive been welding the old school way too... just positioning myself then shutting my eyes and welding with memory... </TD></TR></TABLE>

how are you supposed to weld without looking at your puddle?

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by LordAphotic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
as for lasik im probably gona get it too and this is a good question..... </TD></TR></TABLE>

no wonder you need lasik.

i used to tack alot without my hood up, let alone weld, but a severe case of flashburn changed that. always use your hood!

from what i understand lasik is laser surgery used to correct the imperfections in your lense. it's kinda of like controlled flashburn. the area affected by welding is generally the cornea, but your lense can also get flashburn. so i would be careful and keep that hood down always, or you could end up wasting all off that money you just spent on lasik.

danielm3

Good stuff guys! Thanks a lot... and I would love to know how I can get it for free if possible.

Laserjock

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by baseballinmyass &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

how are you supposed to weld without looking at your puddle?

no wonder you need lasik.

i used to tack alot without my hood up, let alone weld, but a severe case of flashburn changed that. always use your hood!

from what i understand lasik is laser surgery used to correct the imperfections in your lense. it's kinda of like controlled flashburn. the area affected by welding is generally the cornea, but your lense can also get flashburn. so i would be careful and keep that hood down always, or you could end up wasting all off that money you just spent on lasik.</TD></TR></TABLE>

NOT true. Lasik surgery uses excimer lasers which put out pulses in the deep UV range. Tick, tick, tick. Human tissue is opaque to UV lasers which means a single pulse removes the topmost layer depending on fluence (laser energy/cm squared). That is how the operator/eyesurgeon is able to accurately control the amount removed. More pulses or more fluence = more material removed.

Falshburn damages the light receptors in your eyes and depending on the exposure and severity (and the morons's who weld w/o eye protections healing ability) is irreversible.

"Laserjock"

Race Egr

Not really directly related to this thread ,but guys dont ever get a mri done because it deals with really powerfull magnets and what that means is it will rip all those little pieces of metal in your eyes right out. Just a warning

LordAphotic

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by beepy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">FYI: The military is now letting pilots get Lasik eye surgery. If there is any profession that wouldn't let you do it, that is the one, so I would say Lasik is perfectly safe for any profession.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

this isnt really new. its just that the military is more desperate for pilots now.... less and less people can meet the standards so they down the standards.
marine corps for a long time has been giving waivers so that you can just get lasik done and fly their jets. i almost did that but decided to stick with infantry instead....

I think that other branches are starting to give these same waivers though... they already have been in the past if they found someone rare who just needed corrected eyes. But like i said since theres less people that can meet the full requirements of being a pilot most of the branches will probably start giving more and more waivers.

As for welding without my helmet on. I mostly tac weld. so i dont really need to concentrate on a continuos bead. i close my eyes before i weld. and now that i have a more powerful machine i use my hood and a respirator so i dont breathe the fumes.

my eyes are messed up cause its genetic on my moms side so i guess i have her eyes.... health wise my eyes are perfect. and theres no damage to the retina or anything stuck in my eyes.

Also i think im gona ask a real doctor and post the answers on here cause no one has posted an actuall answer just guesses.

snoochtodanooch

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by beepy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">FYI: The military is now letting pilots get Lasik eye surgery. If there is any profession that wouldn't let you do it, that is the one, so I would say Lasik is perfectly safe for any profession.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

you sure about that? i know they will let navigators get lasik, but i am pretty sure to be a pilot you still have to have 20/20 to start.

extremepowerperformance

I went to get an MRI the other day and they could not do it because I have previously had metal in my eye from porting some turbos. I have to go for an eye x-ray first and make sure there is no metal in there or I could go blind by the super powerful MRI magnets.

thanks for listening!

HiProfile

There is one other alternative, but most people don't like it (not the results/side effects, but the procudure). It involves a corrective lense like a contact that actually molds your eyeballs to what they should be. Picture a contact that puts pressure on the center and is worn while you sleep. I heard it is hard to get used to and irritating at first, but its definately the safest alternative.


There's just something about destroying part of my eye to improve it that I don't like.

RC000E

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by snoochtodanooch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

you sure about that? i know they will let navigators get lasik, but i am pretty sure to be a pilot you still have to have 20/20 to start.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Nope, they are all issuing waivers. I fly a little wee Cessna 172 locally here, and the National Gaurd approached me. I told them that I wanted to go military to be a pilot, but was rejected on the basis of my eyesight 7 years ago. He told me that now, waivers are being issued as long as you meet the other requirements.

My flight instructor wears glasses and is in the process of pursuing acceptance with corrective lenses..no lasik's even.

I personally don't agree with the perfect vision requirement. I am a civilian pilot, I should be able to be a military pilot damn it.

EMod Civic

I had Lasik done about 2 years ago, and I specifically asked about welding when I went in to talk to them. If it's your job to weld, you need to plan on a few weeks of down time during the early recovery, but other than that, there aren't any restrictions. My eyes were very dry for several months, requiring eye drops every hour or so, and I'm sure that the welding fumes would have caused some discomfort, but they told me there was no particular additional risk from welding (assuming you're using a proper shield).

FWIW, I'm really glad I did it. It's great to be able to see in the mornings, and not have to deal with glasses.

-Chris

danielm3

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EMod Civic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I had Lasik done about 2 years ago, and I specifically asked about welding when I went in to talk to them. If it's your job to weld, you need to plan on a few weeks of down time during the early recovery, but other than that, there aren't any restrictions. My eyes were very dry for several months, requiring eye drops every hour or so, and I'm sure that the welding fumes would have caused some discomfort, but they told me there was no particular additional risk from welding (assuming you're using a proper shield).

FWIW, I'm really glad I did it. It's great to be able to see in the mornings, and not have to deal with glasses.

-Chris</TD></TR></TABLE>

Thanks!

G2turbo_terror

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Foowee &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
fyi if you have a flex spending account and you don't like your job you can get lasik done for free. I don't really feel like typing out the details, but if you fall into this category, let me know and it may just muster enough energy for me to type the rest of the story....</TD></TR></TABLE>

More info please! I wanna suck everything I possibly can outta my job and have been considering lasik.

Good thread guys, i never would of thought of this and I'm also glad I've always worn protective goggles when porting and helemt when welding.

abnaasefmb

Its been a while since I’ve worked a clinic but I think the army only lets people with PRK fly its kinda different than lasik ans lasek with PRK the doc will scrap the top layer of the cornea off , do the needed correction and the top layer of the cornea will grow back kind like nothing happened. The healing takes a while and that why its not popular with the civilians. With Lasik they cut the top of the cornea leaving it connected and flip it back do the needed correction and flip the top layer back. So they walk out of the office with near 20/20 and in a day or so its usually as good as 20/15. The “flap” as its called never really heals its held in place with these little suction pumps called endothelial pumps, that just suck the flap in place. that’s why its not always recommended for soldiers. So if a guy that get the Lasik was to do HALO jumping or even regular airborne ops the flap could flip over and then they would be fcut. I was working out at the delta compound when the army started the program back in 95 on ex operators and now its all over the place, kinda cool to see. The army has figured it cheaper to do the surgery than to buy glasses all the time for the same people. The surgery has its limits. +4.00-about -10.00. And the guy was right about it has nothing to do with the part of the eye that get hurt by flash burns. Flash burns is your retina getting a sun burn basically. The funny thing is that I have worked with a bunch of optometrists and not one of hem has ever had the surgery. They always say that they need there fine vision and its not worth the chance. If I remember right it like 1 out of every hundred will experience some kind of trouble with the surgery, but I’m sure you can find these stats on the net. If I was to get it done I would go for the PRK. Good luck.