Dry eye relief in Grand Junction, Colorado

Dry eye relief in Grand Junction is mostly about the desert summer. NOAA’s records put June afternoons at 18 percent humidity, the city averages about 9 inches of precipitation a year, and roughly 68 days reach 90°F. Wear wraparound sunglasses on the trails and the river, keep vents off your face, rest your eyes at screens, and use a lubricating drop as its label directs. See an eye doctor for pain or vision changes.

Grand Junction is high desert

The Book Cliffs, the Colorado National Monument and the bare adobe hills around the valley tell you how dry this country is before any weather report does. NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 normals for Grand Junction Regional Airport (Walker Field), at about 1,481 meters or 4,860 feet, put numbers on it:

• 9.06 inches of precipitation in a normal year.
• June is the driest month at 0.41 inches; September is the wettest at 1.19.
• 17.7 inches of snow a year, with December (5.2) and January (4.5) leading.
• About 68 days a year at 90°F or warmer, and close to 8 at 100°F or more.
• July’s normal high is 94.5°F.

Why June is the hardest month on your eyes

NOAA’s relative humidity table gives Grand Junction June afternoons an average of just 18 percent, with July at 21 and May and August at 24. Mornings are damper, 38 percent in June, but still low. Its average wind speed table also makes June the windiest month of the year here. Put dry air, wind and long daylight together and the tear film loses water fast, especially for anyone spending afternoons on a mountain bike, on the Colorado River or in the orchards and vineyards of Palisade.

• Ride the Lunch Loops or hike the monument early, before afternoon heat and wind build.
• Pick sunglasses that wrap around and sit close to the face; they cut wind as well as glare.
• On the river, a brimmed hat helps with the light bouncing off the water.
• Rest your eyes in the shade for a minute or two with them closed when they start to feel scratchy.

Grand Mesa days and cold-weather trips

The Grand Mesa rises above the valley, and a short drive can take you from desert heat to snowfields. Skiing at Powderhorn or ice fishing on the mesa lakes trades heat for cold wind and glare off the snow. Goggles cover more of the eye than sunglasses, and a car heater on the drive back should blow at the floor and windshield, not your face. Ski trips, cold wind and dry eyes covers the mountain side in more detail.

Valley winters: damp air, dry rooms

Winter changes the outdoor picture. January afternoons in NOAA’s table average 64 percent humidity and December 62 percent, much damper than summer. Nights are cold, with a January low of 17.3°F and about 137 nights a year at or below freezing. That means furnaces run evenings and mornings for months, and heated indoor air ends up much drier than the air outside. A humidifier where you sleep, a cooler room at night and moving your favorite chair away from heat registers all help.

Screens in a sunny town

Bright afternoons push a lot of people indoors to air-conditioned offices, classrooms at Colorado Mesa University and home desks. Screens slow your blink rate, and cold air from a ceiling vent dries the eye between blinks. Angle the monitor slightly below eye level, look away across the room every so often, and blink fully. Our guide on screens and your tear film explains why it helps.

Using Quell

Quell is a lubricating eye drop designed to reinforce the tear film’s oil layer to help reduce moisture loss. Its Drug Facts panel describes its Uses: For use as a protectant against further irritation or to relieve dryness of the eye. The directions: Apply 1 drop 3 times per day in each eye. And one line to read first: Caution should be used in those with egg or bird allergies — For use in the eyes only.

Storage is a real concern in a valley where July highs average almost 95°F. The label says: Store between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F). Keep the bottle out of the glove box and the trailhead parking lot. The whole panel is on the Drug Facts page.

Getting Quell in Grand Junction

Quell ships from Brentwood, Tennessee, to Grand Junction, Fruita, Palisade and anywhere else in the US. There’s no account to make, shipping is $10.00, and orders of 3 or more bottles ship free. You’ll get tracking by email, but we don’t promise a delivery date. Unopened bottles can be refunded within 30 days of delivery with nothing to send back. Visit the Grand Junction page or the Colorado page.

When to call an eye doctor

If dryness keeps coming back, an eye doctor can work out the cause and what to do about it. The label is clear about stopping: 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. Sand or grit that stays in the eye after a windy ride is another reason to get it looked at.