Christmas gifts for a cyclist with dry eyes

Good Christmas gifts for a cyclist with dry eyes protect against wind and keep their eyes comfortable on and off the bike: wraparound riding glasses with clear or low-light lenses, a buff or balaclava for cold rides, a fan setup that doesn’t blast the face on the indoor trainer, and a small bottle of lubricating eye drops. Check the drop’s label for allergy cautions first, and order early.

Check one thing before giving eye drops

Eye drops are a personal gift, so start with the label rather than the wrapping paper. Quell’s warnings read: Caution should be used in those with egg or bird allergies — For use in the eyes only. Emu oil is one of its inactive ingredients. If your cyclist has an egg or bird allergy, or you don’t know, ask them or choose one of the other ideas below.

The label doesn’t give directions for contact lens wearers or for children. If the rider wears contacts on the bike, or the gift is for a young racer, it’s worth leaving the drops out and letting their eye doctor or pharmacist weigh in.

Why riders’ eyes dry out

Riding at 15 or 20 miles an hour pushes a steady stream of air across the eyes, and moving air speeds up tear evaporation. Add the head-down position, which tilts the eyes up toward the wind, and the concentration needed in traffic or on a fast descent, and blinks get fewer and shallower. Our guide to dry eyes when cycling explains the riding side in more depth.

Winter changes the problem without removing it. Cold air holds less moisture, so a 30-degree ride is often drier on the eyes than a mild one. Then many cyclists move indoors to a trainer, where they stare at a screen for an hour with a fan blowing straight at them.

Gifts for winter road riding

• Riding glasses with a wraparound shape, so air doesn’t sneak in around the edges. Clear or yellow lenses work for gray mornings and early sunsets.
• A thin merino or fleece buff that can be pulled up over the nose and cheeks on cold descents.
• A cycling cap with a short brim that fits under the helmet and shades the eyes from low sun.
• A helmet with a visor, for mountain bikers and gravel riders who see more branches and grit.
• Lens wipes and a microfiber pouch, since smeared glasses tend to come off at the first stop and stay off.

Gifts for the indoor trainer season

Hours on a smart trainer are a different kind of hard on the eyes. The rider locks onto a screen, blinks less, and sits in front of a fan sized to cool a sweaty body. A few gifts make that setup easier:

• A fan with an adjustable head, so it can be aimed at the chest instead of the face.
• A tablet or TV stand that puts the screen at eye level, which keeps eyes from opening wide to look up.
• A small room humidifier for the garage or spare room where the bike lives in winter.
• A sweat headband, so salty sweat doesn’t run into the eyes mid-interval.

If the trainer is in a heated basement, the room may already be dry. Our guide on whether a humidifier helps dry eyes covers what to look for in one.

Eye drops as a stocking stuffer

A bottle of Quell is .33 fl oz (10 mL), small enough for a jersey pocket or saddle bag. Its label lists its Uses as: For use as a protectant against further irritation or to relieve dryness of the eye, and it’s designed to reinforce the tear film’s oil layer to help reduce moisture loss. The directions read: Apply 1 drop 3 times per day in each eye. The handling line, worth passing along with the gift, says: Do not touch tip of bottle to any surface to avoid contamination.

For riders, storage is the detail that matters. The label says: Store between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F). A bottle tucked in a jersey pocket on a winter ride stays near body heat, which is fine; one left in a car at the trailhead in July or January may not be. The full panel is on the Drug Facts page.

Ordering and shipping a gift

There’s no gift wrap or gift message at checkout, and the bottle arrives in its normal carton. To send it straight to the rider, put their name and address in the shipping fields and your email in the email field, so the confirmation and tracking come to you. How to send Quell as a gift walks through it.

• Shipping is within the United States only, from Brentwood, Tennessee.
• Shipping is $10.00, and 3 or more bottles ship free, which suits a gift for a whole riding group.
• No delivery date is promised, so order early rather than in the last week before Christmas.
• If they’d rather not use it, an unopened bottle can be refunded within 30 days of delivery without sending it back.

When a gift isn’t the answer

Eye drops are for everyday dryness and irritation, not for grit, a bug or a branch that hit the eye at speed. Anything stuck in the eye, pain, or blurry vision after a ride needs an eye doctor. The label puts it this way: Stop use and ask a doctor if you feel eye pain or changes in your vision, if irritation or redness continues, or if the condition worsens or persists for 72 hours.