Dry eye relief in Austin, Texas

Austin’s dry-eye pressure comes from long, hot summers, hours of screen work and air conditioning that rarely shuts off. NOAA’s Camp Mabry station averages almost 29 days a year at 100°F, and August afternoons fall to about 49 percent humidity. Keep cooled air off your face, take blink breaks from the monitor, protect your eyes on the water, and use a lubricating drop as its label directs.

Austin weather, from Camp Mabry

Austin’s long-running climate record comes from Camp Mabry, the Texas Military Department post in central Austin. NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 normals there describe a city that is hot for a long stretch of the year and only briefly cold:

• Nearly 123 days a year reach 90°F or more.
• About 29 days reach 100°F, more than San Antonio or Dallas Fort Worth average at their airports.
• August is the hottest month, with a normal high of 97.8°F.
• Normal precipitation is 36.25 inches, with May the wettest month at 5.04 inches and July the driest at 1.96.
• The station sits at about 670 feet, at the eastern edge of the Hill Country.

Camp Mabry or the airport: why the numbers differ

Austin has two main weather stations, and they don’t agree on winter. Camp Mabry, surrounded by the city, averages about 12 nights a year at freezing or below. Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, out in open country southeast of downtown, averages 33. Bergstrom also sees fewer 100°F days, about 24 a year. Urban heat holds warmth in the middle of town, so whether your winter mornings feel raw depends partly on whether you live near downtown or out toward Del Valle.

For eyes, that means heaters run more often on the city’s outer edges, and indoor air there gets drier on cold mornings.

Summer afternoons and the humidity drop

NOAA’s relative humidity table for Austin shows a summer pattern people feel without knowing the numbers. June mornings average 89 percent and afternoons 55. By August, afternoons are down to 49 percent. The mornings are sticky, so many people assume their eyes can’t be drying out. They can, because by mid-afternoon the outdoor air is drier, much hotter, and nearly everyone has retreated into air conditioning.

• Run, bike or paddle early, when the humidity is high and the sun is low.
• Wear sunglasses on Lady Bird Lake and Lake Travis, where glare and wind off the water add up.
• After a swim at Barton Springs, rinse your face with fresh water before touching your eyes.
• Bring drops in a bag with you instead of leaving them in a parked car, which can top the label’s storage range: Store between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F).

Screens, open offices and remote work

Austin is a city of laptops, from downtown towers and the Domain to coffee shops on South Congress. Screen work cuts blinking, and the blinks you do make while concentrating are often partial, so the tear film doesn’t get fully refreshed. Air-conditioned offices with ceiling diffusers add a breeze. A few changes help:

• Every 20 minutes, look at something across the room for about 20 seconds and blink fully a few times.
• Set the monitor slightly below eye level so your eyes aren’t opened as wide.
• Turn a desk fan so it blows across your body, not your face.
• Step outside, or at least away from the desk, at lunch.

Our guide to dry eyes at the end of the day covers the late-afternoon slump that many desk workers notice.

Festival season and long days outdoors

Spring and fall festivals in Zilker Park mean whole days in the sun, dust from trampled grass, and late nights. Sunglasses and a hat cut glare, and a break in the shade every hour or two gives your eyes some rest. Keep a bottle of water handy, and pack eye drops inside a bag rather than a back pocket in the sun.

Quell’s label, in brief

Quell is designed to reinforce the tear film’s oil layer to help reduce moisture loss. According to its Drug Facts panel, it’s For use as a protectant against further irritation or to relieve dryness of the eye. Directions: Apply 1 drop 3 times per day in each eye. Handling: Do not touch tip of bottle to any surface to avoid contamination.

One caution comes first: Caution should be used in those with egg or bird allergies — For use in the eyes only. The label is silent on contact lenses, children and using it with other eye drops, so check with an eye doctor or pharmacist before any of those. The whole panel is on the Drug Facts page.

Ordering Quell in Austin

Orders ship from Brentwood, Tennessee, to Austin, Round Rock, Pflugerville and the rest of Texas. Guest checkout means no account. Shipping costs $10.00, and 3 or more bottles ship free. You’ll get tracking by email once it ships; no delivery date is promised, so plan a little ahead. Unopened bottles are refundable within 30 days of delivery, with nothing to mail back. Visit the Austin page, the Texas page, or the home page.

When to see an eye doctor in Austin

If dryness keeps returning despite changes at home and work, book an eye exam so a doctor can work out the cause and what to do about it. The label is clear about when to stop and ask a doctor: 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.

Sudden pain, blurred or changed vision, or an injury from a ball, branch or paddle needs prompt care, not drops. The self-check can help you describe ongoing symptoms; it’s not a diagnosis.