Dry eye relief in Portland, Oregon

Dry eye relief in Portland is mostly about indoor air and summer afternoons. The city is damp from fall through spring, but heated homes and offices dry the air you actually breathe, and July and August are nearly rainless. Point vents away from your face, take blink breaks at screens, and use a lubricating drop as its label directs. Ongoing pain or blurry vision needs an eye doctor.

A wet reputation with a dry season

Portland’s rain is real, but it arrives on a schedule. NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 normals for Portland International Airport show:

• About 36.92 inches of precipitation in a normal year, on roughly 93 days with a tenth of an inch or more.
• December, November and January are the wettest months, each above 5 inches, and the three winter months together bring about 14.5 inches.
• July averages 0.51 inches and August 0.54. June through August together total under 2.7 inches.
• Snow is rare at the airport, about 4.2 inches in a typical year.

So the rain falls mostly in the cool months, which is exactly when people are indoors with the heat on. By the time the sun returns, the air outside has dried out too.

Gray months, heated rooms

Winter afternoons in Portland average 78 percent relative humidity in December, according to NOAA’s humidity table. That moist outdoor air doesn’t stay moist once a furnace warms it. Heating air raises the amount of water it could hold without adding any, so relative humidity indoors falls, sometimes sharply. A bungalow with forced-air heat, a downtown office with sealed windows, or a MAX car with the heater on can all feel dry while rain streaks the glass.

The short, dark days add a second factor: more hours on screens. People blink less often and less completely while they read, code or scroll, leaving the eye’s surface exposed longer between blinks. A few practical changes for the rainy season:

• Run a humidifier in the bedroom and clean it on the schedule its maker gives.
• Close or redirect a floor register that blows toward your desk or couch.
• Every 20 minutes or so, look out a window and blink slowly a few times.
• Keep a water glass at your desk; it won’t moisten the eye, but it’s a cue to take that break.

July and August are nearly rainless

Summer is when Portland’s outdoor air turns genuinely dry. NOAA’s humidity table puts July and August afternoons at 44 percent, compared with morning readings in the high 70s. Normal highs climb to about 82°F, and the airport averages nearly 15 days a year at 90°F or hotter. On those afternoons, a bike ride along the Willamette, a game at Providence Park or a hike in Forest Park all mean warm, moving air across your eyes.

Air conditioning dries indoor air as well, since cooling coils pull water out as they chill it. Aim the airflow at the room, not at your pillow or your face.

East winds through the Gorge

Portland’s National Weather Service office regularly describes easterly winds pushing through the Columbia River Gorge when high pressure builds east of the Cascades. That air comes from the drier interior of the state, and the gusts can be strong near the Gorge and on the east side of the metro area. On a day like that, wraparound sunglasses and a scarf pulled up help on the walk to the car, and keeping the car’s recirculation on cuts the draft from outside.

What Quell’s label says

Quell is designed to reinforce the tear film’s oil layer to help reduce moisture loss, the moisture that heated rooms and dry summer air pull away. Its Uses line reads: For use as a protectant against further irritation or to relieve dryness of the eye. The label gives these directions: Apply 1 drop 3 times per day in each eye. Before every drop, the handling line applies: Do not touch tip of bottle to any surface to avoid contamination.

The appearance can surprise people: The eye drops have a naturally milky-brown appearance. This is normal and does not indicate a problem with the product. The label’s “Do not use” line reads: If this product changes color. Store it within range: Store between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F). Portland winters seldom push a parked car below that range for long, but a summer dashboard can climb above it, so keep the bottle in a bag or pocket. The full panel is on the Drug Facts page.

Ordering to Portland, and when to see a doctor

Quell ships within the United States from Brentwood, Tennessee, including to Portland and its suburbs. Checkout works as a guest, shipping is $10.00, and an order of 3 or more bottles ships free. A tracking email follows once it ships, and no delivery date is promised. See the Portland page and the Oregon page for local details.

Lubricating drops are for everyday dryness. Working out the cause of discomfort that keeps returning belongs to an eye doctor, and the label says 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. Our list of eye symptoms that need a doctor covers what shouldn’t wait.