Dry eyes at the gym

Eyes often feel dry at the gym because of airflow and focus: big fans and air conditioning blow across your face, and staring at a treadmill screen or your phone cuts your blink rate. Sweat and sunscreen running into the eyes add sting. Position yourself out of the fan’s path, wipe sweat with a clean towel, blink between sets, and use lubricating drops with clean hands after your workout, not mid-set.

Why do my eyes get dry after the gym?

The tear film, a thin layer of oil, water and mucus, keeps the eye’s surface smooth and comfortable. Moving, dry air pulls water from it faster, and gyms are full of moving, dry air: wall-mounted fans, ceiling fans, air conditioning set low for a room full of people working hard, and the personal fan built into many treadmills and bikes. Each one aimed at your face shortens the time your tears stay intact between blinks.

Concentration does the rest. Watching a cardio screen, counting reps or reading your phone between sets all reduce how often you blink, and long stretches without a full blink let the surface dry out. Many people only notice it once they stop moving: in the car, eyes suddenly feel gritty.

Treadmills, bikes and the console fan

• Turn the console fan off, or point it at your chest instead of your face.
• Choose a machine away from the big floor fans and ceiling vents if you have a choice.
• Lower your gaze to the screen rather than tilting your head back to look up at a TV; looking down exposes less of the eye.
• Look away from the screen and blink fully every few minutes.
• On rowing machines and stair climbers, close your eyes briefly between intervals.

Sweat and sunscreen in your eyes

Sweat running down your forehead stings, and the reflex is to rub, which spreads it and drags dirty fingers across the eye. A few habits keep it under control:

• Wear a sweatband or a cap to catch sweat before it reaches your eyes.
• Use a clean towel and pat the skin around your eyes rather than wiping across them.
• Keep gym towels separate: one for equipment, one for your face.
• Before an outdoor workout, apply sunscreen well away from the eyes, and check the sunscreen’s own label for what to do if it gets in them.

Quell’s label doesn’t cover rinsing sweat or sunscreen from the eyes, so don’t use an eye drop as an eyewash. If stinging doesn’t settle quickly after you rinse your face, or your vision changes, see a doctor.

Does exercise help dry eyes?

There’s no label claim to make here, and Quell’s label doesn’t mention exercise. What can be said is that the gym itself, with its fans and screens, is often what makes eyes feel dry during a workout, rather than the effort. Changing where you stand and what you look at addresses that directly. Outdoor runners face wind and sun instead; Dry eyes when running covers that version.

Using eye drops before or after a workout

Drops belong at the start or the end of a session, not between sets. Gym equipment is handled by many people, and the label says: Do not touch tip of bottle to any surface to avoid contamination. Wash your hands with soap and water in the locker room first, then:

• Sit on a bench, tilt your head back and pull the lower lid down gently.
• Follow the label directions: Apply 1 drop 3 times per day in each eye.
• Close your eyes for a moment and let your vision settle before you drive.
• Recap the bottle right away.

Quell is a preservative-free lubricating eye drop. Its label lists its uses as: For use as a protectant against further irritation or to relieve dryness of the eye. It’s designed to reinforce the tear film’s oil layer to help reduce moisture loss, the layer that slows evaporation when air is moving across your eyes. The liquid is milky brown. The eye drops have a naturally milky-brown appearance. This is normal and does not indicate a problem with the product.

Keeping eye drops in a gym bag or locker

The label’s storage line reads: Store between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F). That shapes where a bottle should live:

• An indoor locker at room temperature is fine for the length of a workout.
• A gym bag left in a hot car in summer, or a freezing one in winter, will go outside that range; bring the bottle inside with you.
• Keep it in a small zippered pouch, away from a sauna or steam room and out of direct sun by a window.
• Don’t keep it loose in a bag with wet towels or shoes.
• Check the label’s do-not-use rule before each use: If this product changes color.

Contact lenses at the gym

Many people work out in contact lenses, and some notice they feel drier there. Quell’s label doesn’t give directions for use with contact lenses, so ask your eye doctor before putting any drop in with lenses in, and what they suggest for workouts. Can I use Quell with contact lenses? explains what the label does and doesn’t say.

Swimming pools and saunas

Pool water and the dry heat of a sauna each bother eyes in their own way. Goggles keep pool water out; keeping sauna sessions short is kinder to sensitive eyes. Dry eyes after swimming in a pool has more on the pool side.

When to see a doctor

Something stuck in your eye, eye pain or vision changes after a workout are reasons to see a doctor. Quell’s label 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. For a quick look at your symptoms first, try the free dry eye self-check. The full label is on the Drug Facts page.