Dry eyes at an indoor ice rink

Indoor ice rinks dry the eyes because the air over the ice is cold and kept dry on purpose, and skating moves that air across your face. Hockey players, figure skaters and the parents in the stands all feel it, especially at early practices and long tournaments. Glasses or a visor, fuller blinking between drills, warming up in the lobby and a lubricating drop used as labeled can help.

Why the air over the ice feels so dry

A rink is a giant cold surface inside a building. Cold air holds little water, and the ice itself pulls moisture out of the air as frost. Many arenas also run dehumidifiers to stop fog forming over the ice and condensation dripping from the ceiling. The result is air that’s chilly and dry at skate level.

Add movement and it gets worse. A skater gliding at speed creates the same effect as wind on the eye, speeding up evaporation from the tear film. Players also tend to stare hard at the puck, the edge of the boards or a coach’s whiteboard, and focus slows blinking.

Indoor rinks vs. outdoor skating

Outdoor skating has its own problems: sun glare off the ice, real wind and the cold of the open air. Indoors, there’s no sun and no weather, but the air is consistently cold and dry from the first session to the last. And there’s a second dry environment waiting outside the glass: a heated lobby or a car with the heater on. Our guide to dry eyes while ice skating covers ponds and outdoor rinks.

For hockey players

• A visor or full cage cuts much of the moving air that reaches the eyes. Players who already wear one often notice the difference most on the bench, where it’s raised.
• On the bench, take a few slow, full blinks after each shift.
• Keep sweat out of the eyes with a headband or skull cap under the helmet, and wipe your face with a clean towel rather than a glove.
• Keep water bottles on the bench and use them; exertion in dry air dehydrates.
• Between periods, step into the warmer hallway instead of staying on the bench.

For figure skaters

Figure skaters spend long sessions spinning, jumping and gliding with no face protection, often at 5 a.m. ice times. Spins in particular mean holding the eyes open against moving air. A few things help:

• Practice blinking deliberately at the start and end of each element, and between run-throughs.
• Hold off on a big session of phone scrolling in the locker room right before taking the ice.
• Rest in a warmer space between sessions, but not right in front of a heater vent.
• If you wear competition makeup, keep it away from the lash line, where it can flake into the eye.

For parents in the stands

Hockey and skating parents often log more rink hours than the skaters. Early mornings, short sleep and hours staring at a phone or the ice while sitting in cold air add up. A blanket, a warm drink and looking away from your screen between periods all help.

Many rinks resurface the ice between sessions with fuel-powered machines, and some people notice their eyes feel irritated in older arenas with less ventilation. If that’s you, take a break in the lobby during the resurface. Nothing in a bottle changes the air quality, and irritation that persists after you leave the building is worth mentioning to an eye doctor.

Tournament weekends

A weekend tournament can mean three or four games, hotel nights and a lot of driving. Dry air follows you the whole time: the rink, a heated car, a hotel room with a loud HVAC unit. Our guide to dry eyes in a hotel room covers that part. Pack these:

• Glasses as backup if you normally wear contact lenses.
• A refillable water bottle.
• Clean tissues for wiping tears from cold air.
• Your eye drops in a jacket pocket or a bag that goes inside with you, not in the hockey bag in the trunk.

Using Quell around the rink

Quell is an over-the-counter lubricating drop. The label’s Uses line reads: 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. It’s designed to reinforce the tear film’s oil layer to help reduce moisture loss, which is exactly what cold, moving rink air works against. A natural time for one of the day’s drops is before you head into the rink or during a break, following the directions on the box.

Hockey bags often sit in a cold car trunk or a freezing garage between games. The label’s storage line reads: Store between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F). Keep the bottle in a coat pocket instead. The label also says: Do not touch tip of bottle to any surface to avoid contamination, which is easy to forget with cold, gloved hands, so take your gloves off first. If you wear contact lenses, the label doesn’t cover using it with them, and it doesn’t give directions for children, so a young player’s eye questions should go to their doctor.

When it’s more than rink air

Dryness that clears up an hour after leaving the rink is about the environment. A blow to the eye from a puck or stick, sudden vision changes, or pain that doesn’t settle is a reason to get medical care promptly. The label also says: 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 guide to eye symptoms that need a doctor has more. You can order Quell here.