As the cold weather arrives, most people will always spend more time indoors. The season mixes festivities to look forward to and a biting cold temperatures that can impact your eyes.

You may start experiencing new or increased dry eye symptoms when temperatures drop. Dry eyes occur due to inadequate tears or when the tears you produce are of poor quality to keep your eyes moist and lubricated. Read on to learn how cold weather can impact your dry eye symptoms to help combat such occurrences for the health of your eyes.

Dry Eye Symptoms

Below are the signs and symptoms of dry eyes:

• A burning, scratchy, or stinging sensation in your eyes.

• Blurred vision.

• Eye fatigue.

• Stringy mucus around and in your eyes.

• Difficulty driving at night.

• Eye redness.

• Light sensitivity.

• A feeling like you have a foreign thing in your eyes.

How Cold Weather Impacts Dry Eye Symptoms

The cold weather blends wind and cold. As a result, the air loses humidity and your eyes dry out. Heating helps you keep warm when the temperatures drop, but it can dry your eyes and deprive indoor air of humidity. Consequently, your eyes can lack enough tears to moisturize your eye surface.

How to Prevent Dry Eyes in Cold Weather

You can prevent dry eye symptoms in cold weather the following ways:

• Hydrating – A drop in temperature can discourage you from drinking water. However, it is vital to remain hydrated throughout to prevent your eyes from drying up.

• Reducing screen time – Cold weather causes people to spend most of their time indoors. As a result, they tend to use their digital devices, looking at their screens most of the time. That causes their eyes to dry out. Hence, limiting screen time helps lower the risk.

• Blinking regularly – Lubricate your eyes by blinking to spread tears across your eye surface.

• Wearing eye protection outdoors – Protect your eyes from the cold winds that can dry out your eyes when you go outside by wearing wraparound goggles and glasses.

• Avoid directing heat to your face – Avoid facing heating sources indoors. Face your eyes away from them to avoid dying out your eyes.

Treating Dry Eyes in Cold Weather

Doctors recommend different dry eye treatments to help you during the cold weather. Artificial tears can help you lubricate your eyes regularly. Using warm compresses helps relieve your symptoms. You can use an indoor humidifier to add moisture to your home or office to reduce the dry air from the heating indoors.

When to See Your Eye Doctor in Clayton

Dry eye symptoms that occasionally occur due to cold weather can be nothing to cause worry. Your symptoms will often worsen when you step outdoors or stay in a heated room. Preventative measures and treatments can help improve your symptoms.

But if preventative methods and treatments do not improve your symptoms, you may have to see your eye doctor in Clayton. Various underlying conditions like meibomian gland dysfunction, Sjogren’s syndrome, and vitamin A deficiency can dry your eyes. Your Clayton eye doctor will help diagnose the underlying problem and find an effective treatment to help restore moisture to your eyes.
 

For more about cold weather and dry eye symptoms, call Clarity Vision in Clayton at (919) 550-4801to discuss your questions or to book a dry eye appointment today.