Dry eyes for firefighters

Firefighters often deal with dry eyes because the job combines heat, wind on the apparatus, long shifts, short sleep and station buildings with heating or air conditioning running around the clock. Protective gear, rest between calls, airflow kept off your face and a lubricating drop used as its label directs can help with everyday dryness. Anything that injures or burns an eye on a call needs emergency care, not drops.

Why firefighters’ eyes get dry

Heat pulls moisture from every exposed surface, and the eyes are one of the few uncovered ones. Radiant heat on a fireground, hot wind on a brush fire, and the blast of air through an open cab window on the way to a call all speed evaporation from the tear film. Then there’s the rest of the shift: hours of paperwork and training on screens, cooled or heated station air, and sleep broken by tones. Each of those makes dry, tired eyes more likely.

Station life and long shifts

Many departments work long shifts, and a station is home, office and gym for the whole tour. That means eyes spend a long time in the same indoor air. A few changes around the station help:

• Check where vents point in the bunk room, and keep the airflow off your face while you sleep.
• Slow down or switch off a ceiling fan over the bunks or the day room couch.
• During report writing and online training, look away from the screen every 20 minutes and blink fully a few times.
• In winter, suggest a humidifier for the bunk room or day room if the station air feels very dry, cleaned as its maker says.
• Drink water through the shift; heat and exertion dry you out generally.

Sleep, tones and tired eyes

Broken sleep is part of the job. Eyes often feel worse after a night of calls, and the morning after a busy shift is when many firefighters notice dryness most. Rest when you can, keep the bunk room dark and the airflow gentle, and give your eyes a break from your phone before trying to sleep. Our guide to dry eyes on the night shift covers more for people whose work runs through the night.

On the rig and on the fireground

Department policy decides what you wear and when, and your protective equipment comes first. Beyond that, a few everyday habits help:

• Use the eye protection your department provides on every task that calls for it, including overhaul, vehicle extrication and wildland work.
• Riding with windows down means a lot of wind across your eyes; close them when it makes sense.
• After a call, wash your hands and face before touching your eyes.
• Don’t rub your eyes with gloves or dirty hands.

What drops are not for

Lubricating eye drops are for ordinary dryness and irritation. They are not for burns, chemical splashes, debris that won’t rinse out, or anything that hits the eye. Those need emergency care, and your department’s exposure and injury procedures apply. We don’t make claims about smoke or fireground exposures; questions about those belong with your department’s medical program and an eye doctor.

Keeping drops at the station

Quell is a lubricating eye drop designed to reinforce the tear film’s oil layer to help reduce moisture loss. The Drug Facts Uses read: For use as a protectant against further irritation or to relieve dryness of the eye. The directions say: Apply 1 drop 3 times per day in each eye. And on a job with dirty hands, this line matters: Do not touch tip of bottle to any surface to avoid contamination.

Storage needs some thought. Apparatus compartments and turnout gear pockets can get much hotter, or colder, than the label allows: Store between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F). Keep the bottle in your locker or a bag that stays inside the station, not on the rig. Read the caution first: Caution should be used in those with egg or bird allergies — For use in the eyes only. The label doesn’t give directions for contact lenses or for using it with other eye drops; ask your eye doctor or pharmacist. The full panel is on our Drug Facts page.

Days off

Many firefighters work second jobs or spend days off outdoors. Wind, sun and screens don’t stop when the shift does. Wraparound sunglasses outdoors and a vent turned away from your face in the truck help on those days too. Our guide for outdoor workers has more ideas for trades and farm work.

Ordering for the station

Quell ships from Brentwood, Tennessee, to US addresses. Guest checkout works; shipping is $10.00, and 3 or more bottles ship free, which suits buying for a crew. A tracking email follows when it ships, but no delivery date is promised. Unopened bottles can be refunded within 30 days of delivery without sending them back. Order from the home page.

When to see an eye doctor

If dryness keeps coming back between shifts or gets worse, book an eye exam so a doctor can work out the cause and what to do about it. The label gives these reasons to stop and ask a doctor: 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 dry eye self-check can help you describe your symptoms before the visit; it’s not a diagnosis. Our list of eye symptoms that need a doctor covers warning signs.