Dry eye relief in Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis eyes mostly dry out indoors. The city averages about 72 days a year at 90°F or hotter, so air conditioning runs from late spring into fall, and October brings the lowest afternoon humidity of the year. Keep cold vents off your face, blink often during screen work, wear sunglasses on breezy days by the river, and use a lubricating drop as its label directs. See an eye doctor for pain or vision changes.

How hot does Memphis get?

Hotter, for longer, than anywhere else in Tennessee’s big cities. NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 normals for Memphis International Airport, about 250 feet above sea level in the flat Mississippi floodplain, list:

• About 72 days a year at or above 90°F.
• An average July high of 91.9°F and an average July low of 73.6°F, so nights barely cool off.
• August is nearly as hot, with highs averaging 91.5°F.
• Only about 44 nights a year at or below freezing, and a January low averaging 33.3°F.
• Snow is rare, around 2.7 inches in a typical year.

All that heat is why the most common source of dry air in Memphis is a thermostat set to 72 while the porch thermometer reads 95.

Why air conditioning dries your eyes

A cooling system removes water vapor from the air as part of how it works. The tear film, a thin layer of oil, water and mucus, loses water faster in that drier, moving air. Car vents are the worst offenders because they blow straight at face height. Try these on the drive down Poplar Avenue or across the I-40 bridge:

• Set vents to the floor or windshield and let the cabin cool around you.
• Use recirculation sparingly once the car is comfortable.
• At the office, ask to move a desk out of the line of a ceiling diffuser.
• At home, keep the bedroom ceiling fan on low or off if you wake with gritty eyes.

October and April: the dry afternoons

NOAA’s relative humidity table for Memphis shows October afternoons averaging 52 percent, the lowest of the year, and April close behind at 53. Mornings stay humid, near 82 percent in October, so the drop arrives as the day warms. Those are also festival months, with crowds outdoors along the riverfront and in Overton Park. A sunny, breezy afternoon outside can dry the eyes more than you’d expect from a city with a muggy reputation.

Rain, river wind and a wet spring

Memphis gets about 54.9 inches of precipitation a year in NOAA’s normals, more than Nashville or Knoxville. Spring is the wettest stretch, about 16.9 inches from March through May, and April alone averages 5.87 inches. September is the driest month at about 3.03 inches.

Rain doesn’t keep eyes from drying, though. Storm fronts bring gusts, and wind off the Mississippi River along Tom Lee Park or the Big River Crossing walkway can be stiff. Sunglasses with a close fit cut a lot of that.

Barbecue smoke, grills and game days

Smoke from a pit or a backyard grill irritates the eyes on contact, and standing downwind for an afternoon at a cookout makes it worse. Move upwind of the smoker when you can, and step away for a few minutes if your eyes start to sting and water. Lubricating drops are meant for everyday dryness and irritation, not for smoke that keeps pouring into your face, so distance matters more than anything you put in your eyes.

Ordering eye drops in Memphis

Quell ships from Brentwood, near Nashville, to Memphis, Germantown, Collierville, Bartlett and every other US address. There’s no account to set up, standard shipping is $10.00, and 3 or more bottles ship free. You’ll get a tracking email, but no delivery date is promised. Details for the city are on the Memphis page and the statewide Tennessee page.

On the label, Quell’s Uses read: For use as a protectant against further irritation or to relieve dryness of the eye. Directions: Apply 1 drop 3 times per day in each eye. Read the warning before ordering: Caution should be used in those with egg or bird allergies — For use in the eyes only. In a Memphis summer, the storage line matters most: Store between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F). A parked car can run far hotter than that, so carry the bottle with you instead. More on that in can you leave eye drops in a hot car?.

When a Memphis eye doctor should take over

Eye drops cover routine dryness. Anything sharp, sudden or one-sided is a different matter. According to the label, 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 you’re unsure whether your symptoms count as everyday dryness, start with our self-check, then book an exam.