Dry eye relief in Helena, Montana

Dry eye relief in Helena means handling two kinds of dry air. NOAA’s records put July and August afternoons at 29 percent humidity, and winter brings very little precipitation along with months of indoor heat. Keep vents off your face, wear wraparound sunglasses in the wind, rest your eyes during screen work, and use a lubricating drop as its label directs. Pain or vision changes need an eye doctor.

Helena’s weather by the numbers

Helena Regional Airport, the city’s official weather station, sits at about 1,167 meters, close to 3,830 feet. Its NOAA normals for 1991 to 2020 show:

• 11.40 inches of precipitation in a normal year, roughly four-fifths of Missoula’s total.
• Only 1.27 inches from December through February combined, with January the driest month at 0.39 inches.
• June is wettest at 2.21 inches, followed by May at 1.95.
• 37.2 inches of snow a year, with December leading at 7.7 inches.
• About 27 days a year at 90°F or warmer, and roughly 170 nights at or below freezing.

Helena gets most of its moisture in late spring, and winter is the dry season. That surprises plenty of newcomers who picture a snowy mountain town buried from Thanksgiving to Easter.

Why are winters so dry in Helena?

Light snowfalls and cold, clear nights. January’s normal low is 13.5°F and December’s is 14.2°F, and NOAA’s relative humidity table puts Helena’s winter afternoons in the mid-60s, well under the upper 70s it records for Missoula. Then the furnace takes that cold air and warms it, which pushes indoor relative humidity much lower still. Bedrooms, offices and cars all end up with air that pulls moisture from your eyes faster than you might notice.

Indoor habits that help through a Helena winter:

• Run a humidifier in the bedroom and clean it on the schedule its manual gives.
• Turn the heat down at night; a cooler room is less parched.
• Close or redirect the register nearest your desk or reading chair.
• In the car, switch the vents to the floor and windshield once the defroster has cleared the glass.

Spring wind and summer sun

NOAA’s average wind speed table shows April as Helena’s windiest month, with the calmest stretch in December and January. Spring gusts across the valley carry grit from fields and gravel roads, and that’s when close-fitting sunglasses earn a spot on the dashboard. By July the wind eases but the air dries out: afternoons average 29 percent humidity, mornings about 61 percent, and normal highs reach 86.1°F.

A morning hike up Mount Helena or an early paddle on Canyon Ferry Lake catches the gentler part of the day. Open water adds glare and steady breeze, and our guide to dry eyes on a boat covers the gear that helps.

Desk days in the capital

As the state capital, Helena has a lot of people working long hours at monitors in government and downtown office buildings, often under forced-air heat in winter and air conditioning in summer. Screen work slows blinking, so the tear film has more time to thin between blinks. Set a reminder to look across the room now and then, lower the monitor slightly so your eyes aren’t opened wide, and make each blink a full one.

Using Quell as directed

Quell is designed to reinforce the tear film’s oil layer to help reduce moisture loss. Its label lists these Uses: For use as a protectant against further irritation or to relieve dryness of the eye. Follow the directions: Apply 1 drop 3 times per day in each eye. Read the warning before your first bottle: Caution should be used in those with egg or bird allergies — For use in the eyes only.

The storage line reads: Store between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F). Helena nights fall far below the low end of that range for much of the year, so a bottle shouldn’t spend the night in a parked car on Last Chance Gulch. The Drug Facts page shows the complete panel.

Getting Quell delivered in Helena

Quell ships to Helena, East Helena and the rest of the United States from Brentwood, Tennessee. You check out without an account; shipping is $10.00, or free on 3 or more bottles. We email tracking once the order leaves, but we don’t name a delivery date. An unopened bottle is refundable within 30 days of delivery with no need to return it. Local details live on the Helena page and the Montana page.

Symptoms that need a doctor

When dryness keeps returning, an eye doctor is the person to work out the cause and what to do about it. 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 explains the signs worth acting on.