Dry eye relief in Bend, Oregon

Dry eye relief in Bend starts with the high desert itself: thin, dry air, big daily temperature swings and wind on the trails and ski runs. Shield your eyes outdoors with sunglasses or goggles, keep heater and car vents off your face, take blink breaks from screens, and use a lubricating drop as its label directs. Pain or changes in vision are a reason to see an eye doctor.

High desert numbers from NOAA

Bend sits on the dry side of the Cascades, and NOAA’s weather station in town records it. Its 1991 to 2020 climate normals read like a desert almanac:

• About 10.62 inches of precipitation in a normal year.
• September is the driest month at 0.31 inches, with August at 0.35.
• June, July and August together average under 1.5 inches.
• December is the wettest month, at about 2.07 inches.
• Normal snowfall is 21.6 inches, most of it from December through February.
• The station stands at about 1,116 meters, close to 3,660 feet.

For comparison, Portland’s airport normally gets more than three times as much. The mountains to the west catch the moisture, and Central Oregon lives in their rain shadow.

How dry the air gets

NOAA’s humidity table doesn’t include Bend or Redmond, so the closest high-desert record is from Burns, farther east on the same plateau. There, August afternoons average 19 percent relative humidity and July 21 percent. Even the annual afternoon average is only 44 percent. Bend’s figures will differ somewhat, but the pattern is the same: very dry summer afternoons, damper mornings and nights.

Air that dry speeds the evaporation of tears. It’s one reason a day on the Deschutes River Trail can leave eyes gritty even when you weren’t squinting into the sun.

Cold nights, warm afternoons

Elevation, dry air and clear skies give Bend wide daily temperature swings. A normal July day runs from 48.6°F at dawn to 83.8°F in the afternoon, a 35-degree range. In January the normal high is 42.5°F and the low 24.6°F. The station averages about 168 nights a year at or below freezing, so many households run the heat from fall well into spring, and some summer mornings call for it too.

That means the furnace or wood stove runs for much of the year, and heated indoor air is drier still than the air outside. Keeping a humidifier in the bedroom, sitting a few feet back from the wood stove and turning ceiling fans down at night all help. If you rely on a space heater in a home office, our guide to dry eyes from a space heater covers placement.

Mt. Bachelor, the river and the trails

Outdoor life is the reason many people live here, and each activity dries eyes a little differently:

• Skiing and snowboarding at Mt. Bachelor combine cold wind, speed and glare off the snow. Goggles that seal around the eyes work far better than sunglasses.
• Mountain biking on the Phil’s Trail network means constant airflow and dust. Clear or tinted cycling glasses help.
• Floating the Deschutes in August puts you in bright sun with reflected glare and afternoon humidity near the year’s low.
• Hiking at elevation, around Tumalo Falls or the lakes along the Cascade Lakes Highway, adds wind and thinner air.

Our guides on ski trips and dry eyes and dry eyes when cycling go deeper on gear and timing.

Using a lubricating drop in Central Oregon

Quell is designed to reinforce the tear film’s oil layer to help reduce moisture loss, which is what dry, moving air strips away. The label’s Uses line reads: For use as a protectant against further irritation or to relieve dryness of the eye. The directions are: Apply 1 drop 3 times per day in each eye. Read the caution before the first drop: Caution should be used in those with egg or bird allergies — For use in the eyes only.

Two label lines matter more at altitude. The first is storage: Store between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F). A car at a trailhead parking lot in July can get too hot, and one left at the ski area on a January night can get far too cold, so carry the bottle in an inside pocket or a pack you bring indoors. The second is handling: Do not touch tip of bottle to any surface to avoid contamination. Wash or sanitize your hands after a dusty ride before you reach for the bottle.

Ordering to Bend and when to see a doctor

Quell ships from Brentwood, Tennessee, to Bend and the rest of the country. Guest checkout works without an account, shipping is $10.00, and orders of 3 or more bottles ship free. We email tracking once it ships, though no delivery date is promised. You’ll find more on the Bend page and the Oregon page.

A drop is for everyday dryness. If symptoms persist, working out why is an eye doctor’s job, and the label says when to stop: 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. Our list of eye symptoms that need a doctor explains which ones shouldn’t wait.