Do you need different eye drops in winter?

You don’t need a different lubricating drop for winter, but you may notice your eyes need more attention. Heated indoor air and cold wind both speed evaporation from the tear film. Quell’s label directions stay the same year-round: Apply 1 drop 3 times per day in each eye. What changes in winter is where you keep the bottle and the habits around it.

Why winter feels different for your eyes

Cold air holds less water than warm air. When winter air comes inside and gets heated, its relative humidity drops, sometimes to levels that feel parched. Outdoors, cold wind moves dry air across the eye. Between the two, the tear film loses water faster in winter than in mild seasons for many people. Our guide to winter heating and dry eyes explains the indoor side in more detail.

That doesn’t mean a lubricating drop works differently in December. It means the air is working harder against your eyes.

Do the directions change in winter?

No. The label doesn’t have seasonal directions. Quell’s read: Apply 1 drop 3 times per day in each eye. If you find yourself wanting much more than that during the cold months, that’s a reason to talk to an eye doctor or pharmacist, not to change the dose on your own.

What you can adjust is timing within the directions. If your eyes feel driest in the evening, when the heat has been running for hours, spacing your doses so one falls before that stretch can make sense.

Why the oil layer matters in winter

The tear film has three layers: an oily outer layer, a watery middle and a mucus layer next to the eye. The oil layer slows evaporation of the water underneath. In dry, heated air, evaporation is the main problem. Quell is designed to reinforce the tear film’s oil layer to help reduce moisture loss, which is why the same drop fits the season. You can read more in the tear film’s oil layer, explained.

Storage is the real winter change

The storage line on the label reads: Store between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F). In much of the country, a car on a January night falls well below that range. So do unheated garages, mailboxes, porches and gym lockers in some buildings. Winter habits that keep a bottle in range:

• Keep it in an inside coat pocket or a bag that comes indoors with you.
• Don’t leave it in a parked car through a winter night or in a glove box during the workday.
• If it gets cold, let it come back to room temperature on its own. Don’t microwave it or run it under hot water.
• Before using a bottle that got cold, look at it. The label’s “Do not use” line reads: If this product changes color.

Our guide on whether eye drops can freeze in a cold car covers what to do if one does.

Winter travel and outdoor days

Winter trips bring their own mix. A ski weekend pairs cold wind on the lift with a dry, heated lodge. A holiday flight means hours of cabin air with low humidity. A long drive to see family means the heater running for hours with vents aimed somewhere near your face. In each case, the drop and its directions are the same as at home; what changes is where the bottle rides. Keep it in a pocket or carry-on rather than a checked bag in a cold cargo hold, a ski locker, or a trunk. If you’re flying, traveling with eye drops covers carry-on liquids. On the slopes, goggles do more for wind-dried eyes than anything you put in them afterward.

Winter habits that help as much as a drop

• Run a humidifier in your bedroom while the heat is on, and clean it regularly.
• Turn car heater vents toward your feet and the windshield, not your face.
• Keep space heaters from blowing toward you while you sit.
• Wear wraparound sunglasses or goggles in cold wind and on bright snow.
• Take screen breaks; long indoor winter evenings tend to mean more screen time.
• Drink water. Heated air dries you out, and thirst is easy to miss in the cold.

Ordering ahead of the cold

If you rely on a lubricating drop through the winter, it helps to have a spare bottle at home before a storm or a busy holiday stretch. Quell ships from Brentwood, Tennessee, within the United States, but we don’t promise a delivery date, and winter weather can slow things down. Orders of 3 or more bottles ship free. Our guide to eye drops shipped in hot or cold weather covers what to check if a package sat out in the cold.

When winter dryness needs more than habits

Dry eyes that come and go with the heating season are common. Symptoms that hurt, affect your vision or keep getting worse are not something to wait out until spring. The label is clear: 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. The label also doesn’t give directions for contact lenses, children, or use with other drops; ask your eye doctor or pharmacist about those. The full panel is on the Drug Facts page.