Dry eye relief in Louisville, Kentucky

Dry eye relief in Louisville means handling two seasons. Winters are colder than farther south, with about 74 freezing nights and months of furnace heat, and April afternoons average just 50 percent humidity right as Derby season starts. Keep heat and vents off your face, wear glasses in the wind, take screen breaks, and use a lubricating drop as the label says. Pain or blurry vision needs an eye doctor.

Louisville weather by the numbers

Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport hosts the city’s official station, about 490 feet above sea level and a few miles from the Ohio River. NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 normals show a city on the line between the South and the Midwest:

• About 48.3 inches of precipitation a year, with May the wettest month at 5.18 inches and January the driest at 3.39.
• About 13.4 inches of snow in a normal year, nearly three times Nashville’s, with January (4.5 inches) and February (4.1) the snowiest.
• A January average of 43.6°F for the high and 27.8°F for the low.
• About 74 nights at or below freezing and roughly 13 days when the high stays at or below 32°F.
• July highs averaging 89.0°F, with about 43 days a year at 90°F or above.

Why are my eyes so dry in Kentucky winters?

Outdoors, Louisville winters feel damp. December and January afternoons average 64 percent humidity in NOAA’s table, the highest of the year. The trouble starts when that cold air comes inside. Heating it from 28°F to a comfortable room temperature without adding water drops its relative humidity sharply, which is why old Victorian houses in Old Louisville and new apartments in NuLu alike can feel parched by February.

• Close or redirect a heat register that blows toward your bed or favorite chair.
• Run a small humidifier in the bedroom, cleaned on the schedule its manual gives.
• Lower the thermostat a degree or two at night; the same moisture reads as higher relative humidity in slightly cooler air.
• Keep space heaters pointed at your legs rather than your face.

For more on the heated-air side, see dry eyes from a space heater.

Snow days and cold wind on the river

A walk across the Big Four Bridge to Jeffersonville in January can mean a steady wind over open water. Cold wind dries the eye’s surface and can trigger watering at the same time, which feels contradictory but is common. Wraparound sunglasses or regular glasses break the wind. Scraping a windshield and then blasting the defroster at your face undoes the good work, so aim it at the glass.

April and Derby season

NOAA’s Louisville row puts April’s afternoon humidity at 50 percent, the lowest of any month, with May at 54. Spring is when the city moves outside: Thunder Over Louisville, the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs, and long afternoons at Waterfront Park. A day in the infield or the grandstand means hours of sun and breeze. Sunglasses with a brim help, and a bottle in your bag, not a hot car, keeps relief close.

Bourbon trail drives and long commutes

Plenty of Louisville weekends start with a drive out I-64 or the Bluegrass Parkway to distillery country. Hours at the wheel cut down on blinking, and a vent pointed at your face speeds evaporation. Set vents low, pull over to rest your eyes, and switch drivers if you’re touring with friends.

What the label says

Quell is designed to reinforce the tear film’s oil layer to help reduce moisture loss. The Uses on its Drug Facts panel read: For use as a protectant against further irritation or to relieve dryness of the eye. The directions read: Apply 1 drop 3 times per day in each eye. There’s also a caution to check first: Caution should be used in those with egg or bird allergies — For use in the eyes only. Storage matters during a Kentucky winter too: Store between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F). A bottle left in the car through a January night can get colder than that, so bring it in. The complete label is on our Drug Facts page.

Ordering to Louisville

Quell ships from Brentwood, Tennessee, to Louisville, the Highlands, St. Matthews, Jeffersontown and every other address in Kentucky. Checkout is guest-only, shipping is $10.00, and we email tracking without promising a date. An unopened bottle can be refunded within 30 days of delivery, and you don’t need to send it back. See the Louisville page or the Kentucky page.

When to see a doctor

An eye that hurts, a sudden change in how well you see, or dryness that comes back no matter what you change are reasons for an exam. The label puts it this way: 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.