Dry eye relief in Rochester, New York

Dry eye relief in Rochester follows the calendar. From November into April, heated indoor air does the drying, and NOAA’s normals give the city about 102 inches of snow and 129 freezing nights a year. In spring, breezy afternoons are the driest outdoors. Aim vents away from your eyes, take screen breaks, shield your eyes from lake wind, and use a lubricating drop as its label directs.

Rochester’s climate in NOAA’s normals

The weather station at Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport sits southwest of downtown at about 533 feet. Its 1991 to 2020 normals:

• About 102.0 inches of snow in a normal season, with January leading at 27.4 inches.
• December through February together average 72.8 inches.
• Snow cover of an inch or more on the ground about 72 days a year.
• Total precipitation of about 35.09 inches, less than many people expect for a snowy city.
• July highs averaging 82.5°F, and about 8 days a year at 90°F.

Lake Ontario, a few miles north of downtown, shapes all of it, feeding lake-effect snow in early winter and cooling the shoreline in summer.

Heated air from November to April

NOAA counts about 6,273 heating degree days a year at the airport and only 677 cooling degree days. There are about 45 days when the temperature stays at or below freezing from morning to night. That adds up to a long stretch of the furnace pulling in cold air, warming it and pushing it through ducts. Warming lowers the air’s relative humidity, so the moisture that felt raw outdoors spreads thin indoors.

Outdoors, NOAA’s table gives December afternoons an average humidity of 71 percent, the highest of any month. It’s the indoor air that dries the eyes. Spots to watch:

• The car on the commute along I-490, with the defroster aimed up at the windshield and your face.
• Offices and classrooms where a heating vent sits right above a desk.
• Bedrooms with a register next to the bed.
• Long evenings in front of a screen, when blinking slows and the furnace cycles on and off.

Simple fixes go a long way: a humidifier in the bedroom, the furnace fan set to auto, a deflector on a register that blows toward a chair, and a few full blinks every time you finish an email.

Spring is the dry season outdoors

Once the snow melts, the outdoor air turns drier than at any other point in the year. NOAA’s figures put Rochester’s May afternoon humidity at 53 percent and April at 55, compared with 69 in January. Spring winds off the lake and across open fields, along with the first long walks in Highland Park or on the Genesee Riverway Trail, put more moving air across your eyes. Sunglasses double as a wind shield.

Summer by the lake

Summer is mild here. NOAA’s normals put July highs at 82.5°F, and August mornings average 85 percent humidity. Beach days at Ontario Beach Park or an afternoon on a boat off the shore still bring wind and glare off the water. Pack polarized sunglasses and a hat, and keep your drops in a shaded bag. The label’s storage line reads Store between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F); a car parked at the beach in July can climb past it.

What the Quell label covers

Quell is designed to reinforce the tear film’s oil layer to help reduce moisture loss. That top layer of oil slows evaporation from the watery layer beneath, which is why heated air and wind can leave eyes feeling dry. On the Drug Facts panel, the stated Uses are “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 one warning to read before the first drop: Caution should be used in those with egg or bird allergies — For use in the eyes only. The label also says when not to use it: “If this product changes color.” You’ll find every line on the Drug Facts page.

Getting Quell in Rochester

Orders go out from Brentwood, Tennessee, to Rochester, Greece, Irondequoit, Henrietta and anywhere else in the United States. You can check out as a guest. Shipping is $10.00, and it’s free on 3 or more bottles. A tracking link arrives by email when the order ships, but there’s no promised delivery date, especially in a snowy week, so reorder early. A bottle you haven’t opened can be refunded within 30 days of delivery without sending it back. See the Rochester page, the New York page, or buy Quell.

When dryness calls for a doctor

Dryness that keeps returning deserves an exam, since an eye doctor can find the cause and suggest what to do about it. The label’s own limit: 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.

Don’t wait on sudden eye pain, blurred vision, light sensitivity or a feeling that something is stuck in your eye. Eye symptoms that need a doctor has the fuller list.