Dry eye relief in Tulsa, Oklahoma

Dry eye relief in Tulsa means getting through two hard stretches: windy March and April afternoons, and a long summer of air conditioning, with NOAA counting about 74 days a year at 90°F or above. Wear sunglasses on breezy days, keep car and ceiling vents off your face, blink deliberately during screen time and use a lubricating drop as labeled. Eye pain or changes in vision need an eye doctor.

Tulsa weather, according to NOAA

Tulsa International Airport, about 650 feet above sea level on the city’s northeast side, is the official station. The 1991 to 2020 climate normals:

• About 41 inches of precipitation a year, peaking in May at 5.73 inches.
• January and February are the driest months, at about 1.6 inches each; the three winter months together total only 5.68.
• About 8.7 inches of snow in a normal winter.
• A July that runs from 73°F at dawn to 93.6°F in the afternoon, with August nearly as hot.
• About 74 days a year at 90°F or above and nearly 11 at 100°F or above.
• About 72 nights at or below freezing.

Why are my eyes so dry in the spring in Tulsa?

Spring is Tulsa’s windiest season. NOAA’s wind table for the airport peaks in April, with March close behind, and drops to its calmest in August. Those months also have the lowest afternoon humidity of the year: 52 percent in April and 53 in March, compared with mornings in the mid to upper 70s.

Wind across the eye carries off moisture faster, and gusts carry dust and pollen from open ground. A walk along the river trails, a round of golf or a Saturday at an outdoor festival can leave eyes gritty by evening. Practical steps:

• Wear wraparound sunglasses on windy days, even when it’s cloudy.
• Rinse off and change clothes after yard work so dust doesn’t follow you to the couch.
• Keep car windows up and use recirculate on gusty days.
• Blink fully and look away from your phone during long stretches outdoors.

Summer: 74 days of 90-degree heat

Tulsa summers are hot and often humid outdoors; May, June and September mornings average 85 percent humidity. The dryness most people feel comes from the air conditioning that runs from May to September. With July nights staying near 73°F, units in homes, offices and cars rarely get a rest.

• Aim car vents at your chest, never at your face, on drives along the Broken Arrow Expressway or I-44.
• Turn off or slow a ceiling fan that blows across your bed all night.
• Move a desk out of the stream from an overhead vent.
• At a summer evening game downtown, bring sunglasses for the low sun and glare.

Sitting by the Arkansas River or at the Gathering Place on a breezy day is lovely, but the combination of sun, wind and screen time can dry eyes fast. Our guide on whether dry eyes are worse in summer or winter compares the two seasons.

Dry winters, heated homes

Tulsa winters are short and fairly dry, with less than six inches of precipitation from December through February. January’s normal high is 48.9°F and the low 28°F, so furnaces and heat pumps run most nights. Warmed indoor air loses relative humidity, and January afternoons average 60 percent outdoors before the heat goes on. A bedroom humidifier and a little distance from heat registers can make winter evenings more comfortable.

Using Quell

Quell is a preservative-free lubricating drop designed to reinforce the tear film’s oil layer to help reduce moisture loss. Its label gives the Uses as 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. The label also cautions: Caution should be used in those with egg or bird allergies — For use in the eyes only.

Heat is the storage issue in Tulsa. The label reads: Store between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F). A car in a summer parking lot can climb far past that (see eye drops in a hot car), so carry the bottle in a bag or purse that comes inside with you. See the whole panel on our Drug Facts page.

Ordering Quell to Tulsa

We ship from Brentwood, Tennessee, to Tulsa, Broken Arrow, Owasso, Jenks, Bixby and the rest of Oklahoma. Guest checkout means no account, shipping runs $10.00, and orders of 3 or more bottles ship free. A tracking email follows; no delivery date is promised, so order before you run out. In summer, bring delivered packages in promptly. The Tulsa page and the Oklahoma page have more.

When to see an eye doctor in Tulsa

If dryness keeps coming back or gets worse, an eye doctor can work out the cause and what to do about it. The label is clear about stopping: 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. Dust that won’t rinse out with blinking, an eye injury or a sudden change in vision need prompt care.