Due to dry, cold winter air and the use of indoor heating, people are much more likely to seek dry eye treatment in Chicago during the winter. Dry eye symptoms can be uncomfortable, and can prevent you from participating in activities that you enjoy. Here are a few ways that you can protect your eyes in the winter and reduce your need for dry eye treatment.
Don’t Sit Directly In Front of Heating Vents
The hot, dry air from heating vents or space heaters can severely irritate your eyes, particularly if you wear contact lenses. To avoid suffering from dry eyes, try not to sit directly in front of a space heater or the heating vents in your home. You can also redirect the heating vents in your car so that they aren’t blowing directly on your face. If you do wear contact lenses, you may want to switch to eyeglasses when you’re at home with the heater on.
Protect Your Eyes When You Go Outside
Cold air can also make your eyes irritated and dry, and cold wind can further exacerbate dry eye symptoms. If you’re going to be outside for a long period of time, wear sunglasses or eyeglasses to protect your eyes from the cold air and wind. Eye drops are an effective and affordable dry eye treatment that can restore moisture to your eyes, and significantly reduce redness, itching, and irritation that may be caused by cold air and wind.
Buy a Humidifier for Your Home
If you run a heater regularly in your home, it will reduce the moisture of your indoor air. This can make your eyes irritated, itchy, and dry. To restore moisture to your indoor air, you can buy a humidifier. Humidifiers release water vapor or steam into the air to make it more humid. You can also install a central humidifier in your home’s heating unit to humidify your entire house and combat dry air and dry, itchy eyes.