Dry eye relief in Lake Jackson, Texas

Lake Jackson’s air is humid, so dry eyes here mostly come from indoors. NOAA’s normals for the nearby Angleton airport show about 94 days a year at 90°F or hotter, which keeps air conditioning running at home, in the truck and at the plant for much of the year. Cold, dry AC air, coastal wind and long shifts all speed tear evaporation. Redirecting vents, protecting your eyes at work and using a lubricating drop as labeled help.

Gulf Coast weather in NOAA’s numbers

The closest NOAA station with full climate normals is Texas Gulf Coast Regional Airport in Angleton, a few miles north of town. Its 1991 to 2020 figures:

• About 94 days a year reach 90°F, though 100-degree days are rare, fewer than two a year.
• August is the hottest month, with highs averaging 93.2°F and lows near 75°F.
• Normal yearly precipitation is 45.76 inches, spread across about 59 days with a tenth of an inch or more.
• September is the wettest month at 5.96 inches.
• January highs average 65.3°F, and freezing nights come about 10 times a year.

NOAA’s humidity table has no Lake Jackson entry, so Houston, about 50 miles north, is the nearest comparison. Its morning humidity averages 93 percent in July and August, and even afternoons stay in the high 50s. This is muggy country.

Humid outside, dry inside

If the air outside is that damp, why do eyes feel dry? Because hardly anyone spends a Gulf Coast summer outside. Air conditioners cool by pulling water out of the air, and in a place this hot they run from spring well into fall. Your eyes spend most of the day in chilled, dried air, often with a vent pointed straight at you.

• Aim car vents at your chest; a long drive on Highway 288 with cold air on your face dries eyes fast.
• Raise the thermostat a degree or two so the system cycles less.
• Point bedroom ceiling fans and wall units away from the pillow.
• Step outside for a few minutes on breaks; the humid air is a change of pace for your eyes.

Plant shifts and refinery work

Lake Jackson was built as a company town. The city’s own history says Dow started construction on December 8, 1941, to house employees of its Brazoria County plants, and the city incorporated in 1944. Petrochemical and plant work in the Freeport area still shapes daily life here, and the work is hard on eyes in particular ways:

• Long shifts, sometimes rotating, with long stretches in air-conditioned control rooms.
• Hours watching monitors, where concentration cuts down blinking.
• Outdoor work in wind, heat and glare, sometimes in safety glasses that fog or trap warm air.
• Night shifts that throw off sleep, which tends to leave eyes feeling drier.

Follow your site’s rules for eye protection first; no drop does what a face shield or goggles do. If a chemical or debris gets in your eye at work, use the plant’s eyewash station and get medical help right away. A lubricating drop is for ordinary dryness, not exposures.

Wind off the Gulf

Surfside Beach and Quintana are minutes away, and a day on the sand, a fishing trip out of the Freeport jetties or a run down the Brazos in a boat means hours of steady coastal wind. Even humid air dries the eyes when it’s moving fast enough across them, and sun reflecting off water makes people squint instead of blinking fully.

Wraparound sunglasses with a strap for the boat, a brimmed hat, and regular breaks in the shade go a long way. Dry eyes on a boat has more for days on the water.

Using a lubricating drop on the Gulf Coast

Quell’s Drug Facts label gives its Uses as: For use as a protectant against further irritation or to relieve dryness of the eye. It’s designed to reinforce the tear film’s oil layer to help reduce moisture loss, which is the problem in a cold control room or a car with the AC on high. The label’s directions: Apply 1 drop 3 times per day in each eye. Keep the bottle tip clean, as the label instructs: Do not touch tip of bottle to any surface to avoid contamination.

Plan the three daily drops around your shift, say before you leave, at lunch and after you get home, rather than reaching for the bottle while you’re driving. Store it as the label says, Store between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F). A truck cab in a Lake Jackson parking lot in August gets well past that, so keep the bottle in your lunch bag or locker instead. Can you leave eye drops in a hot car explains the heat issue.

Ordering Quell to Lake Jackson

Quell ships from Brentwood, Tennessee, to Brazoria County for $10.00 per order, free with 3 or more bottles. No delivery date is promised, so reorder before you run out, and if storms are forecast, have the package delivered where it won’t sit in the heat or rain. See the Lake Jackson page and the Texas page.

When to see an eye doctor

Dryness that keeps coming back, or anything that affects your vision, needs an optometrist or ophthalmologist. Finding the cause and caring for it is their job; a drop only addresses ordinary dryness. The label lists 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. The dry eye self-check can help you describe symptoms before a visit.