Dry eye relief in Beverly Hills, California

Beverly Hills gets almost no rain from June through August: NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the UCLA weather station, just west of the city, add up to 0.15 inches for those three months combined. Dry air and the canyon winds of fall pull moisture off the eye. Quell is a lubricating drop for that kind of dryness, used as the label directs: Apply 1 drop 3 times per day in each eye.

Eye drops in Beverly Hills: what the climate is doing

Most Beverly Hills residents think of the weather as mild, and the numbers agree on temperature. NOAA’s normals for the UCLA station put the January high at 67.7°F and the August high at 78.8°F, a swing of barely eleven degrees across the year. What changes far more is moisture. The station’s normal yearly precipitation is 17.73 inches, and almost all of it arrives in a short winter window: December through February accounts for 11.80 inches, with February the wettest month at 4.73 inches.

Then the tap shuts off. July’s normal is 0.03 inches and August’s is 0.01. For four or five months of the year, the hedges along Beverly Drive and the gardens north of Sunset stay green because of irrigation, not weather. That long stretch without rain, plus the air conditioning that runs through it, is a big part of why eyes can feel scratchy here even though the city rarely sees real heat.

Santa Ana winds and Red Flag Days

Fall and early winter bring the other Beverly Hills weather story: the dry, offshore Santa Ana winds that push desert air down through the canyons toward the coast. They arrive with low humidity and gusts, which is close to the worst mix for the tear film, because moving air carries moisture off the surface of the eye faster than still air does.

The city takes these days seriously for fire reasons. According to the City of Beverly Hills’ Red Flag Warning page, the Beverly Hills Fire Department declares a Red Flag Day when humidity is 15 percent or less, sustained winds reach 25 mph or more with gusts of 35 mph, and the burn index is 151 or higher. On those days there’s no street parking on marked streets, most of them north of Sunset Boulevard or Doheny Road, including stretches of Benedict Canyon Drive and Coldwater Canyon Drive, and parked cars can be cited or towed. The city sends notice through its Nixle alerts.

Those same conditions are hard on eyes. If your phone buzzes with a Red Flag notice, it’s a fair cue to plan the day around the wind as well as the car:

• Wear wraparound sunglasses for the walk from the car, the dog walk up the canyon, or the drive with the top down.
• Keep the car’s vents off your face and the windows up on gusty stretches of Coldwater or Benedict Canyon.
• Use your drops at the times you’ve set for the day rather than adding extra ones; the label sets the count.
• Wash your hands after time outside in blowing dust or ash before you touch your eyes or the bottle.

Itchy, dry eyes in a dry-air city

People in Beverly Hills often search for help with itchy eyes as much as dry ones. Quell’s Uses statement reads: For use as a protectant against further irritation or to relieve dryness of the eye. Itching that comes with dryness is part of what lubricating drops are for, but itching that keeps coming back, or that arrives with swelling or discharge, is something to take to an eye doctor. Figuring out what is behind persistent eye symptoms, and deciding what to do about them, belongs to them, not to a bottle bought online.

The dry eye self-check is a quick set of questions that can help you describe what you feel before that appointment. It is not a diagnosis, and it doesn’t replace one.

Air conditioning, offices and long screen days

A lot of Beverly Hills work happens indoors: law and talent offices along Wilshire, salons and retail on Rodeo Drive, medical suites on Bedford. Air conditioning removes moisture from the air as it cools, and a vent aimed at a desk keeps a steady breeze across your face. Screens add a second pressure, since people blink less while reading one. Screens and your tear film explains the blinking side of that.

Small changes help: angle the vent toward the ceiling, set a reminder to look away from the monitor now and then, and keep a bottle in a desk drawer so your midday drop isn’t skipped because the bottle stayed home.

Keeping the bottle in range

Even in a mild climate, a parked car in direct sun gets much hotter than the air around it. The label’s storage line reads: Store between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F). A bottle left in a cup holder in a sunny lot on Canon Drive in September can climb past that range, so carry it in a bag that comes inside with you.

Quell is Product appears as a milky brown solution, and that color is expected. The eye drops have a naturally milky-brown appearance. This is normal and does not indicate a problem with the product. If it changes color from how it arrived, the label’s “do not use” line covers it: If this product changes color.

Ordering Quell to a Beverly Hills address

Quell ships across the United States from Brentwood, Tennessee, and Beverly Hills addresses, from the flats to the canyon roads, are covered. Shipping is $10.00, or free with 3 bottles in the cart. No delivery date is promised, so reorder before you open the last bottle. The Beverly Hills page and the California page have more on ordering in the area, and you can order from the home page as a guest.

When to see an eye doctor

Dry air explains a lot of discomfort, but not every case. If your eyes still bother you after the winds die down, or if anything about your vision changes, book a visit rather than waiting it out. Quell’s label sets the line plainly: 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.