Dry eye relief in Burlington, Vermont

Burlington’s cold is the main reason eyes feel dry there. NOAA’s airport records show about 145 nights a year at or below freezing and around 16 below zero, so furnaces and wood stoves run from October into May. Then spring brings the driest afternoons of the year. Humidifying the bedroom, keeping stove heat off your face, goggles on the mountain and a lubricating drop used as labeled help. Persistent symptoms need an eye doctor.

What NOAA records at Burlington International

Burlington’s official station is at the airport in South Burlington, about 330 feet above sea level and a few miles east of Lake Champlain. Its 1991 to 2020 normals describe a long, hard winter:

• A January normal high of just 28.9°F and a low of 12.9°F.
• About 145 nights a year at or below freezing, close to five months.
• Around 57 days when the high never climbs above 32°F.
• Roughly 16 nights a year below 0°F.
• 87.5 inches of snow in a typical winter, with January, December and February each near 20 inches.
• About 89 days a year with at least an inch of snow on the ground.
• February as the driest month for precipitation, at 1.77 inches.

Why bitter cold means dry indoor air

When it’s 13°F outside, each cubic foot of air holds only a small fraction of the water it could carry on a summer day. Bring that air into a house and heat it to 68°F, and its relative humidity drops to desert levels without a drop of water leaving. The colder the outside air, the drier the heated room. That’s why Burlington’s indoor air in January can feel harsher than Boston’s, even though both cities have snowy winters.

Outside, NOAA’s humidity table shows Burlington’s winter afternoons are fairly moist, around 64 percent in January and 67 percent in December. The numbers fall in spring: April and May afternoons both average 51 percent, the lowest of the year. Mud season, with bright sun and wind before the leaves come out, is often when outdoor dryness peaks.

Wood stoves, pellet stoves and old farmhouses

Plenty of homes around Chittenden County heat with wood or pellets, alone or alongside oil and propane furnaces. A stove throws strong radiant heat into one room, dries the air quickly and adds a little smoke each time the door opens. Practical steps:

• Sit to the side of the stove, not facing it, when you read or watch TV.
• Keep a humidifier running in bedrooms and clean it as its maker directs; a kettle or a steamer pot on a stove adds some moisture too, though it’s hard to measure.
• Open the stove door slowly and stand back while loading so smoke doesn’t blow into your face.
• Have the chimney and flue checked so the stove draws well; smoke in the room irritates the eyes.
• Our guide to fireplaces, candles and dry eyes covers smoke indoors in more depth.

Lake Champlain wind and the waterfront

Burlington slopes down to Lake Champlain, and wind sweeping across the open water reaches the Waterfront Park, the bike path and the top of Church Street with little to slow it. Walking the Island Line trail in December or waiting for the ferry means steady, cold wind in your face, and moving air pulls moisture off the eye quickly. Sunglasses with wraparound frames help more than a hat alone.

Ski days on the mountains

Stowe, Smugglers’ Notch, Bolton Valley and Sugarbush are all a short drive from town, which means a lot of chairlift rides at speed in subfreezing air. Goggles are the most useful thing on the mountain, since they block wind and the glare off snow. Our guide to ski trips and dry eyes has more, including what to do in the lodge, where the heat and the boot-dryers blast warm air everywhere.

Using Quell in a Vermont winter

Quell’s label lists its Uses as: For use as a protectant against further irritation or to relieve dryness of the eye. The directions read: Apply 1 drop 3 times per day in each eye. It’s designed to reinforce the tear film’s oil layer to help reduce moisture loss. Keep a few label points in mind for a cold climate:

• Storage: Store between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F). With 16 below-zero nights a year, a bottle left in a car or a ski bag in the trunk can get far colder than that range.
• Handling: Do not touch tip of bottle to any surface to avoid contamination.
• Appearance: Product appears as a milky brown solution, so that color is expected.
• If you wear contact lenses, the label doesn’t cover using it with them; ask your eye doctor.

Ordering to Burlington and when to call a doctor

Quell ships to Burlington and across Vermont from Brentwood, Tennessee, with no account needed. No delivery date is promised, and winter storms can slow any package, so order with time to spare. See the Burlington page and the Vermont page.

A humidifier and a drop help with dryness from cold weather and heat. Working out the cause of eyes that stay uncomfortable belongs to an eye doctor. The label says: 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 is a good check.