Dry eye relief in Sandy Springs, Georgia

In Sandy Springs, dry eyes usually come from indoor air, not the weather: long workdays in air-conditioned towers along GA-400, cold office vents and hours at a screen. Spring afternoons are also drier than people expect. Relief comes from steering vents away from your face, taking screen breaks and using a lubricating eye drop as labeled. When dryness lingers, an eye doctor is the person to work out why.

Atlanta-area air: muggy mornings, drier afternoons

NOAA’s humidity table for Atlanta shows an average relative humidity of about 81 percent early in the morning across the year, falling to about 55 percent in the afternoon. On August mornings it averages about 87 percent, which is the sticky air everyone in north Fulton knows.

The lowest afternoon average comes in April, at about 49 percent. That’s the stretch of pollen-coated cars, open windows and the first long evenings on a patio along Roswell Road. Low afternoon humidity with a breeze is when the surface of the eye loses moisture fastest outdoors, so April can be harder on your eyes than July, even though July feels far worse.

Sandy Springs weather by NOAA’s numbers

DeKalb-Peachtree Airport, just southeast of Sandy Springs, has its own NOAA climate normals for 1991–2020:

• About 51.4 inches of precipitation in a normal year, spread fairly evenly across the months.
• October is the driest month, at roughly 3.4 inches.
• A July normal high of 89.4°F, with about 53 days a year at 90°F or above.
• A January normal high of 51.9°F and low of 32.7°F, with about 49 nights a year at or below freezing.
• About 1,729 cooling degree days a year, NOAA’s gauge of how much air conditioning a climate calls for.

In practice, that means air conditioning runs for much of the year. Cooling dries air as it chills it, and an office or a car with the AC on high blows that dry air across your face for hours.

Workdays in the GA-400 office corridor

A large share of Sandy Springs works in the office towers clustered around GA-400 and I-285, and plenty more commute there from elsewhere in the metro. Climate-controlled buildings, ceiling diffusers and dual monitors are a recipe for tired eyes by 3 p.m. Some changes you can make at your own desk:

• Find the ceiling vent above you and, if it blows on your face, ask facilities about a deflector or move your chair.
• Lower the top of your monitor to eye level or a bit below, so your lids cover more of each eye.
• Every 20 minutes, look out the window at something far away and blink slowly a few times.
• Keep a water bottle on the desk; heavy AC dries you out in general.
• On video calls, look away from the screen between speakers instead of reading chat.

Eye drops for computer users goes into screen habits in more detail.

Traffic on GA-400 and I-285

Long, stop-and-go commutes add more dry air. In summer, the dash vents push cold air across your eyes; in winter, the heater does the same with hot air. Angle the center vents toward your chest, use recirculate on pollen-heavy spring days, and keep sunglasses in the car for the westbound evening glare. Put eye drops in before you leave or after you park, never while driving.

Weekends on the Chattahoochee

The National Park Service’s Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area protects land along 48 miles of the river through Atlanta’s northern suburbs, in 15 separate land units, and the park’s mailing address is on Island Ford Parkway in Sandy Springs. Paddling, fishing and trail running along the river are a big part of weekend life here.

• On the water, sun reflects off the surface and wind moves freely down the river. Polarized sunglasses help with both.
• On trail runs, airflow across your eyes rises with your speed. Blink fully at every water stop.
• If you carry drops, keep them in a dry bag or pack pocket out of the sun.
• Wash or sanitize your hands before using a drop after handling a paddle or fishing line.

How Quell fits in

Quell is an over-the-counter lubricating eye drop. The label’s Uses line reads: For use as a protectant against further irritation or to relieve dryness of the eye. Its directions are Apply 1 drop 3 times per day in each eye. It’s designed to reinforce the tear film’s oil layer to help reduce moisture loss, which matters most in dry, moving air like an air-conditioned office.

Georgia summers are the storage risk. The label says Store between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F), and a parked car in a Perimeter Center lot in July can far exceed that. Keep a bottle in your desk drawer or your bag instead. The label also says Do not touch tip of bottle to any surface to avoid contamination, and notes Caution should be used in those with egg or bird allergies — For use in the eyes only.

When to see an eye doctor in north Fulton

If dryness keeps returning even after you’ve fixed the vents and taken breaks, or if your eyes hurt or your vision changes, book an exam with an optometrist or ophthalmologist. Finding out what’s behind it and deciding what to do are their call. The label’s limit for over-the-counter use is clear: 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.

Ordering Quell to Sandy Springs

Quell ships from Brentwood, Tennessee, to Georgia addresses at $10.00, and orders of 3 or more bottles ship free. You can order as a guest, and unopened bottles can be refunded within 30 days of delivery without returning them. No delivery date is promised. If you’d rather have it at the office, put the company name on the address line. More on the Sandy Springs page and the Georgia page.