Dry eye relief in Laramie, Wyoming

Dry eye relief in Laramie comes down to altitude, cold and wind. The airport weather station sits near 7,270 feet, December through February brings less than an inch of precipitation, and heating runs most of the year. Block the wind with wraparound glasses or goggles, humidify the rooms you sleep and work in, blink fully at screens, and use a lubricating drop exactly as labeled.

Life at 7,270 feet

Laramie Regional Airport’s station stands at 2,214.7 meters, about 7,270 feet, nearly 2,000 feet higher than Denver. Its NOAA normals for 1991 to 2020 read like a high-desert record:

• 10.52 inches of precipitation in a normal year.
• Just 0.92 inches from December through February, with January averaging 0.28.
• May is the wettest month, at 1.75 inches.
• About 212 nights a year at or below 32°F, and roughly 54 days when the high never gets above freezing.
• Only about 2.5 days a year reach 90°F; July’s normal high is 81.1°F.

NOAA’s monthly file for this station doesn’t publish a snowfall normal, so you won’t find a snow total here. The precipitation figures alone show how little moisture reaches the Laramie Plains in the cold months.

Wind on the Laramie Plains

NOAA’s average wind speed table has no row for Laramie itself. Its nearest listed station is Cheyenne, just across the Laramie Range, and Cheyenne ties Casper for the highest yearly average of any Wyoming or Montana city in the table. The windiest months there are January and December, when the average runs about 40 percent above July’s. Moving air carries water away from the surface of the eye, and wind with dry air does it faster.

• Wear wraparound sunglasses or glasses with side shields for walks across campus.
• Pack ski or snowshoe goggles for the Snowy Range, where exposed ridges catch the full force of a gust.
• Use a brimmed hat or hood to break wind coming straight at your face.
• Turn your back to the wind, or duck into the car, before putting a drop in outdoors.

Ten-degree nights and dry heat indoors

January and December lows near 10°F mean Laramie furnaces and boilers work hard from fall into late spring. Heating air that cold without adding water leaves very little relative humidity indoors, and the winter air outside was carrying little moisture to begin with. Older rentals and dorms near the University of Wyoming can get especially dry, and so can the car on a long run over I-80.

A small humidifier by the bed, a slightly cooler thermostat after dark and keeping your face out of the path of the space heater help more than you might expect. Our guide to dry eyes from cold air covers the outdoor half of a Wyoming winter.

Short, cool summers that still dry your eyes

Summer is mild by Western standards, with July highs near 81°F and nights around 48.5°F, and June through August brings more than a third of the year’s precipitation, much of it in afternoon storms. Even so, a midday scramble at Vedauwoo or a hike to Medicine Bow Peak means sun, breeze and glare off pale granite, often for hours. Start early, wear sunglasses that wrap, and give your eyes a few minutes in the shade with your eyes gently closed when they start to sting.

How to use Quell

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

Storage matters at this altitude and temperature. The label says: Store between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F). A Laramie winter night sits far below that range, so keep the bottle indoors or in an inside pocket rather than the glove box. Read the full panel on our Drug Facts page.

Ordering Quell to Laramie

Orders go out from Brentwood, Tennessee, to Laramie, Centennial and every other US address. There’s guest checkout, shipping is $10.00, and 3 or more bottles ship free. You get tracking by email, though no delivery date is promised, and winter storms on the interstate are a good reason to order early. Unopened bottles are refundable within 30 days of delivery without being sent back. See the Laramie page or the Wyoming page.

When to see an eye doctor in Laramie

Persistent dryness is worth an exam, since an eye doctor can work out the cause and what to do about it. The label is specific: 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. If one eye hurts, your vision blurs and stays blurred, or something seems lodged in the eye after a windy day, book an appointment.