Dry eyes for pharmacists

Pharmacists get dry eyes from the shape of the job: hours of verifying orders on a screen, reading small print on bottles and boxes, cold or dry building air, and few real breaks. Blinking slows during that kind of close, careful focus. Short look-away breaks, vents turned off your face, good task lighting and a lubricating drop used as its label directs can help. Symptoms that persist deserve an eye exam.

Why a pharmacy shift is hard on your eyes

A retail or hospital pharmacy asks for a particular kind of attention. Every order means matching a name, a drug, a strength and a quantity, often by switching between a screen and a small printed label. That kind of checking is exactly the work during which people blink least. Fewer blinks, and more partial ones, leave the tear film unrefreshed, and its watery layer evaporates faster. By the end of a 10- or 12-hour day, many pharmacists notice gritty, scratchy or burning eyes that weren’t there at opening.

The building plays a part too. Big-box and grocery stores run strong heating and cooling for the sales floor, and the pharmacy counter often sits under a supply vent. Hospital pharmacies keep air moving constantly. Moving, conditioned air speeds evaporation from the eye’s surface.

Verification screens and reading labels

Much of the job is screen-and-paper work: verification queues, insurance screens, then the physical product, the stock bottle and the label. The eyes shift focus between near and middle distances dozens of times an hour. Habits that fit between orders:

• After each batch you verify, look across the store or down an aisle for a few seconds and blink fully.
• Set the verification monitor slightly below eye level, so your eyes aren’t opened as wide while you read.
• Raise the text size on the screen rather than leaning in; leaning in tends to mean staring.
• Use a task light at the counting station so labels are easy to read without squinting.
• If you wear reading glasses for close work, make sure the prescription is current; straining to read is another reason people forget to blink.

Counter air, drive-through windows and the store floor

Airflow is the easiest thing to change. Look up: if a ceiling diffuser blows directly onto the verification station, ask facilities whether it can be redirected or fitted with a deflector. A personal fan under the counter should blow across the body, not up at the face. Drive-through windows can let in gusts of hot or cold outdoor air each time they open; stand to one side of the opening when you can.

In winter, heated store air gets very dry. A small humidifier isn’t practical on a busy counter, but at home, especially in the bedroom, it can make the hours you’re not at work more comfortable. See does a humidifier help dry eyes? for the details.

Long shifts and late closes

Pharmacy hours can run long, and lunch is often taken standing up between calls. Eyes do better with real breaks. If you can, step away from the counter and away from screens for a few minutes every couple of hours. Avoid scrolling a phone during that break, since it’s more of the same close focus. Our guide to dry eyes on the night shift has ideas for anyone working late closes or a 24-hour pharmacy.

When pharmacists are the ones being asked

Customers often ask pharmacists which drops to use alongside a prescription, whether a drop works with contact lenses, or whether a child can use one. Those are exactly the questions an OTC label often leaves unanswered. Quell’s label is one example: it doesn’t give directions for contact lenses, children or use with other eye drops. For a customer, the right next step is the professional who knows their history, often their eye doctor.

For your own eyes, the same applies. Knowing a lot about drug products doesn’t replace an eye exam, and dryness that keeps coming back is worth having looked at. Our list of questions to ask a pharmacist about eye drops is written for customers, but it’s a handy checklist from the other side of the counter too.

What the Quell label says

Quell is a preservative-free lubricating eye drop designed to reinforce the tear film’s oil layer to help reduce moisture loss. Its active ingredients are Glycerol (1.0%), Polysorbate 80 (1.0%) and Light Mineral Oil (0.5%). The Uses line 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. While using it: Do not touch tip of bottle to any surface to avoid contamination.

The label’s caution: Caution should be used in those with egg or bird allergies — For use in the eyes only. Storage: Store between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F). It also notes the color: Product appears as a milky brown solution. Every section is on our Drug Facts page, where you can read it the way you’d read any OTC panel.

Using drops during a pharmacy shift

• Wash your hands first, which is already a reflex at the counting station.
• Keep the bottle in a clean pocket or a bag at your station, not loose on a counter where it can pick up dust or get mixed in with stock.
• Follow the label’s directions rather than adding extra drops on a long day.
• If you also use a prescribed eye drop, ask your eye doctor how to space them; the label doesn’t cover using it with other drops.

When to see an eye doctor

If your eyes stay uncomfortable even on days off, or the dryness keeps returning despite changes at work, book an exam so an eye doctor can work out the cause and what to do about it. The label lists the 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.

The dry eye self-check can help you describe your symptoms before the visit; it’s not a diagnosis. You can order Quell from the home page, with guest checkout and shipping to US addresses.