Dry eye relief in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Oklahoma City is hard on eyes because the air rarely sits still. Wind sweeps across the plains in every season, it carries fine red dust on dry days, summer afternoons are hot and the drier side of humid, and winter fronts arrive fast. Shield your eyes outdoors, keep car and room vents off your face, and use a lubricating drop as its label directs. Eye pain or blurry vision that won’t clear belongs with an eye doctor.

Oklahoma City’s climate, by the numbers

NOAA’s main record for the city comes from Will Rogers World Airport, on the southwest side at roughly 1,285 feet. The 1991 to 2020 normals there show a hotter, drier and less snowy place than most of the Midwest:

• About 36.4 inches of precipitation in a normal year.
• May is by far the wettest month at 5.31 inches; January is the driest at 1.32, and November and December each stay under 1.8.
• Only about 6.7 inches of snow in an average winter.
• July averages a high of 93.1°F, and about 73 days a year reach 90°F or more.
• January runs from a normal high of 49.3°F to a low of 27.0°F, with about 72 nights a year at or below freezing.
• Fewer than eight days a year never get above freezing.

Put together, that’s a winter of frequent freezes and quick thaws, and a long summer when the air conditioner runs from May into October.

Wind and the dust it carries

The National Weather Service office in Norman forecasts for the metro, and its wind advisories are a familiar part of life here. Wind matters for eyes in two ways. First, moving air pulls water from the tear film faster than still air does, so even a mild day can feel scratchy on a gusty afternoon. Second, Oklahoma’s red soil turns to fine dust when it’s dry, and the wind lifts it off construction sites, ball fields and plowed ground.

Dust and grit are irritants. Quell’s label describes it as a protectant against further irritation, and the practical steps come before any drop:

• Wear wraparound sunglasses or safety glasses on windy days, especially near open dirt.
• Turn your back to a gust instead of squinting into it.
• Don’t rub your eyes with dusty hands; wash up first.
• Close the car’s outside-air setting when you’re behind a truck on a dirt road.

Summer: hot, bright and drier than it looks

NOAA’s humidity table for Oklahoma City shows mornings in the 80s, then afternoon averages that fall to 51 percent in July and 50 percent in August, the lowest of the year. Combine that with highs in the 90s and steady wind, and an afternoon at a Bricktown ballgame, a Thunder watch party on a patio, or a walk along the Oklahoma River trails can leave eyes dry and tired.

Then everyone goes inside. Air conditioning dries air as it cools it, and a car that’s been sitting in a lot reaches temperatures far above the storage range on Quell’s label. Aim dash vents low, and keep the bottle in your bag, not the console.

Winter fronts and heated rooms

Oklahoma winters are short on snow but full of swings. A cold front can drop the temperature by tens of degrees in an afternoon, and the wind behind it is often dry and cutting. January afternoons at the airport still average 59 percent humidity outside, but once that cold air is heated to room temperature indoors, its relative humidity falls well below that. Furnaces, space heaters and dashboard heat all do the same thing.

A bedroom humidifier helps during the months the heat runs, and so does keeping a heater from blowing across your face. For long sessions at a laptop or phone, look away and blink fully every so often. Screens and your tear film explains the connection, and winter heating and dry eyes has more for the cold months.

What Quell is and how to use it

Quell is an over-the-counter, preservative-free lubricating drop. The Uses line on its Drug Facts panel reads: 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 matters in wind and in conditioned air alike. The label directions read: Apply 1 drop 3 times per day in each eye. And this line matters on a dusty day: Do not touch tip of bottle to any surface to avoid contamination.

Before using it, read the caution: Caution should be used in those with egg or bird allergies — For use in the eyes only. The label’s “Do not use” line reads: If this product changes color. The storage line reads: Store between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F). With more than seventy days a year at 90°F or hotter, a parked car in Oklahoma City is the wrong place for a bottle. The full label is on the Drug Facts page.

Ordering Quell in Oklahoma City

Quell ships from Brentwood, Tennessee, to addresses across the United States, including Oklahoma City, Edmond, Norman, Moore and the rest of the metro. Guest checkout is the only kind there is, shipping is $10.00, and orders of 3 or more bottles ship free. There’s no promised delivery date, but a tracking email goes out when your order ships. If you change your mind, an unopened bottle can be refunded within 30 days of delivery with nothing to return. Visit the Oklahoma City page or the Oklahoma page, or order from the home page.

When to see an eye doctor instead

If grit seems stuck in your eye, if it hurts, or if your vision changes, a lubricating drop isn’t the answer. Working out what’s going on belongs to an eye doctor. The label’s stop-use line is explicit: 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.

See our list of eye symptoms that need a doctor for the signs that shouldn’t wait. For everyday dryness, the dry eye self-check offers a few questions and next steps; it’s not a diagnosis.