Dry eye relief in Syracuse, New York

Dry eye relief in Syracuse comes down to the heating season. NOAA’s normals give the city about 128 inches of snow a year and more than 130 nights below freezing, so furnaces run for months and indoor air turns dry. Keep heat registers and car vents off your face, add moisture to the bedroom air, blink fully at screens, and use a lubricating drop as its label directs.

Syracuse snow, in NOAA’s numbers

Syracuse Hancock International Airport, on the north side of the city about 413 feet above sea level, is the official station for NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 climate normals. They read like a snowplow driver’s calendar:

• About 127.8 inches of snow in a normal year, with 94.9 inches falling in December, January and February alone.
• January averages 34.0 inches, December 30.6 and February 30.3, and even March adds 19.8.
• Snowfall of an inch or more happens on about 34 days a year.
• The ground holds at least an inch of snow cover on about 80 days.
• January highs average 31.7°F and lows 16.5°F.

Much of that snow comes off Lake Ontario, when cold winds cross the lake’s open water and drop lake-effect bands across Onondaga County.

The long heating season

NOAA counts about 6,588 heating degree days a year in Syracuse against only 619 cooling degree days. Put simply, the furnace has a far bigger job than the air conditioner. The airport averages 132.5 nights at or below 32°F and about 47 days when the high never gets above freezing.

Cold air holds little water to begin with. Warming it to 70°F inside doesn’t add any, so its relative humidity drops, and a forced-air system then blows that air around every room. NOAA’s table says outdoor January afternoons in Syracuse average 68 percent humidity, which feels damp on the skin, but a heated house is another matter. Eyes often notice it first in the morning, after a night of warm, dry air from a register.

• Run a cool-mist humidifier in the bedroom and clean it as its maker directs.
• Close or redirect a floor register that blows toward the bed or the couch.
• Set the furnace fan to auto so it isn’t pushing air every hour of the night.
• Keep your bottle of drops in a heated room, not a mudroom or garage.

Shoveling, skiing and the walk across campus

Outdoor time in a Syracuse winter is windy, bright and cold. Clearing the driveway after a lake-effect band, a day on the slopes, or climbing the Syracuse University hill in a north wind all push dry, cold air across the eyes. Snow reflects sunlight, so squinting adds to the strain. Ski goggles or wraparound sunglasses block both. A scarf pulled high can fog glasses, so tuck it below the nose.

Back inside, give it a minute before reaching for anything near your eyes: wash off road salt and wet glove grit, and let a bottle that rode in a cold pocket warm up. The label asks for storage at Store between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F), and a car parked outside in January drops well below that.

Spring and summer in Central New York

The outdoor air is driest in spring. NOAA’s table shows April and May afternoons in Syracuse averaging 53 percent humidity, the lowest of the year, as the snow disappears and the winds pick up. Summer is mild by national standards, with July highs near 81.7°F and only about 10 days a year at 90°F or above. Late August brings the State Fair crowds to Geddes, a long day outdoors in sun and dust where sunglasses earn their place.

Using Quell through a Syracuse winter

Quell is a lubricating eye drop designed to reinforce the tear film’s oil layer to help reduce moisture loss, which is the problem a heated house creates. The Uses line on its Drug Facts panel reads: 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. Don’t let the tip touch anything, in the label’s words: Do not touch tip of bottle to any surface to avoid contamination.

Read the warning section before your first use: Caution should be used in those with egg or bird allergies — For use in the eyes only. The full label is on the Drug Facts page, and our guide to winter heating and dry eyes has more ideas for around the house.

Getting Quell in Syracuse

Quell ships from Brentwood, Tennessee, to Syracuse, Liverpool, Cicero, DeWitt and everywhere else in the United States. Checkout doesn’t need an account. Shipping is $10.00 per order, or free when you buy 3 or more bottles, and you’ll get tracking by email when the order leaves. We can’t promise a delivery date, and winter storms can slow any package, so order ahead of a snowy week. Sealed bottles are refundable within 30 days of delivery with no need to return them. Visit the Syracuse page or the New York page.

When to see a doctor

If dryness keeps coming back all winter, an eye doctor can look for the reason and what to do about it. The label gives the point 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.

Pain, a sudden change in vision, or one eye that’s much worse than the other deserves an appointment, not a stronger routine. The self-check can help you put symptoms into words first; it’s not a diagnosis.