Dry eye relief in Indianapolis, Indiana

Dry eye relief in Indianapolis depends on which season is drying the air. Winter furnaces run through about 105 freezing nights a year, summers bring air conditioning and long days outdoors, and spring afternoons are breezy and dry. Keep vents off your face, wear sunglasses at outdoor events, take screen breaks, and use a lubricating drop as its label directs.

Indianapolis in NOAA’s records

NOAA’s official station is at Indianapolis International Airport, southwest of downtown at about 790 feet above sea level. The 1991 to 2020 normals show a classic Midwest climate:

• About 43.63 inches of precipitation a year, with May (4.75 inches) and June (4.95) the wettest months.
• About 25.5 inches of snow, 21.2 of it from December through February.
• July highs averaging 85.2°F, with about 20 days a year at 90°F or hotter.
• January highs near 36.1°F and lows near 20.9°F.
• 105.5 nights a year at or below freezing.

Race month and outdoor summers

May is the Indianapolis 500, and the weeks around it put a lot of people outdoors for hours: practice days, qualifying, the race itself and cookouts across the city. NOAA’s normals put May highs at 73.4°F, and May is one of the wetter months, yet a full day in the stands still means sun, wind and grit. Wraparound sunglasses guard against glare and blowing debris. Blink fully now and then, since focusing hard on one thing tends to slow blinking.

Summer keeps that pattern going: the State Fair in August, evening concerts, rides on the Monon Trail. July and August mornings average 83 to 86 percent humidity in NOAA’s table, but afternoons fall to 58, and a day in the sun followed by a blast of car air conditioning is hard on the eyes.

Storing drops in an Indiana summer

The label’s storage line reads Store between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F). Indianapolis passes 86°F on many summer afternoons, and a car in an open lot at the Speedway or the fairgrounds gets much hotter. Keep the bottle in a bag that stays with you, out of direct sun, and don’t leave it in the glovebox. If a bottle ever looks different from the label’s description of a normal one, “Product appears as a milky brown solution,” don’t use it.

Spring wind and dry afternoons

NOAA’s humidity table gives Indianapolis afternoon averages of 55 percent in April, September and October, and 56 in May and June, the lowest of the year. The flat, open farmland around the city lets wind build, and spring is when yards get cleared and gardens dug. Dust and wind together are rough on the tear film.

• Wear sunglasses or safety glasses for yard work and mowing.
• Do dusty jobs on calm mornings, when the air is damper.
• Wash your hands before rubbing your eyes or using drops.
• Keep the car windows up on gravel roads and aim the vents at your chest.

Furnace months

NOAA counts about 5,250 heating degree days a year at the airport. From November to March, forced-air heat warms cold air without adding water, so its relative humidity falls. NOAA’s table shows December afternoons at 71 percent outside; inside, that same air feels nothing like it once it has been warmed. Eyes notice it most first thing in the morning and at the end of a long day at a screen.

• Run a humidifier in the bedroom and clean it on the schedule its maker recommends.
• Point floor registers and space heaters away from where you sit.
• Aim the car heater at your feet on the I-465 loop.
• Take short breaks from screens and blink fully.

What Quell is and how to use it

Quell is a lubricating eye drop designed to reinforce the tear film’s oil layer to help reduce moisture loss. Its active ingredients are Glycerol (1.0%), Polysorbate 80 (1.0%) and Light Mineral Oil (0.5%). The Uses section reads “For use as a protectant against further irritation or to relieve dryness of the eye,” and the label directs: Apply 1 drop 3 times per day in each eye.

One warning comes first: Caution should be used in those with egg or bird allergies — For use in the eyes only. Keep the tip from touching anything, per the label: Do not touch tip of bottle to any surface to avoid contamination. The full panel is on the Drug Facts page.

Getting Quell in Indianapolis

Quell ships from Brentwood, Tennessee, to Indianapolis, Carmel, Fishers, Greenwood, Avon and anywhere in the United States. Buy as a guest without making an account. Shipping is $10.00, or free on 3 or more bottles, and tracking comes by email once the order ships. We don’t promise a delivery date, so order with some time to spare. An unopened bottle is refundable within 30 days of delivery and doesn’t have to be returned. See the Indianapolis page and the Indiana page.

When to see a doctor in Indy

Dry eyes that keep coming back deserve an eye doctor’s look, to work out the cause and what to do about it. The label tells you 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.

Eye pain, blurred vision that won’t clear, or trouble with only one eye calls for an appointment. The self-check helps you describe symptoms before the visit; it’s not a diagnosis.