Dry eyes for police officers

Police officers get dry eyes from long hours in a patrol car with vents blowing, night shifts that run past normal sleep, staring at an in-car computer between calls, and wind and weather on traffic stops. Aim vents away from your face, look up from the screen often, wear eye protection outdoors, and use a lubricating drop as labeled, only while parked and once your vision is clear.

Why patrol work dries your eyes

A patrol shift combines conditions that each pull water from the tear film. The cruiser’s climate control runs constantly to keep a car full of equipment and a body in a vest comfortable. The in-car computer demands focus, which cuts down on blinking. Night shifts stretch waking hours. And stepping out into wind, cold or dust at a scene does the rest. None of these is unusual on its own; it’s the combination, shift after shift, that adds up.

Patrol car vents

Dash vents sit at face height, and in a parked car with the engine running for hours they blow air at you the entire time. Cooled air is dry, and heated air is drier still in relative terms.

• Angle the center vents toward your chest or the ceiling.
• Use the floor setting for heat in winter when you can.
• Lower the fan speed once the cabin is at temperature.
• If you share a car, reset the vents at the start of shift; the last person’s setup may be aimed straight at your eyes.

The in-car computer and paperwork

Report writing, running plates and checking calls on a mobile data terminal mean long stretches of close focus, often at an awkward angle on a mounted screen. Concentration reduces your blink rate, and blinking spreads tears.

• Look up through the windshield and into the distance every few minutes.
• Adjust the mount so the screen is as close to straight ahead as safety and your agency’s setup allow.
• Turn screen brightness down at night to roughly match the dark cabin.
• Blink fully a few times before you start a long report.

Night shifts and dry eyes

Graveyard schedules, rotating shifts and holdovers keep eyes open long past when they’d normally be closed. Eyes tend to feel driest late in a long day, and a shift that ends at sunrise is exactly that. Afterward, sleeping in a room with a ceiling fan or a heating vent blowing toward the bed can make it worse. Our guide to dry eyes on the night shift covers sleep timing and the drive home.

Wind and weather at a scene

Traffic stops on the shoulder of a highway, directing traffic at an intersection and standing at a perimeter all mean exposure to wind and passing-vehicle blast. Wraparound safety glasses or sunglasses, where agency policy allows, block much of it. Dust, grit and road spray are irritants too. If something gets in your eye and doesn’t rinse out, that’s a medical issue, not a dryness one.

Chemical exposure, including pepper spray during an arrest or training, is a separate situation that calls for your agency’s decontamination steps and medical care. A lubricating drop isn’t meant for it.

Using drops on duty

Only use drops while the car is parked and you’re not about to drive. A drop can blur vision briefly as it spreads, and you need clear vision before you’re back on the road or responding to a call. Is it normal for vision to blur after eye drops? explains what to expect.

• Remove gloves and clean your hands first, with soap and water or a sanitizer you let dry completely.
• Follow the label: Apply 1 drop 3 times per day in each eye.
• Keep the tip clean, as the label says: Do not touch tip of bottle to any surface to avoid contamination.
• Don’t share a bottle with a partner.

Where to keep a bottle on duty

The label’s storage line reads: Store between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F). A trunk or glove box in a cruiser parked in summer sun, or one sitting in a lot through a winter night, can go well outside that range. Keep a bottle in a duty bag or locker that comes indoors with you, and carry one in a uniform pocket during the shift if your agency permits.

What Quell’s label says

Quell is designed to reinforce the tear film’s oil layer to help reduce moisture loss. Its Uses read: For use as a protectant against further irritation or to relieve dryness of the eye. Before you buy, read the caution: Caution should be used in those with egg or bird allergies — For use in the eyes only. The complete panel is on our Drug Facts page. If you wear contact lenses on duty, the label doesn’t cover use with lenses; ask your eye doctor or pharmacist. The same applies to using it with other eye drops.

Police officer eye exams and vision standards

Agencies set their own vision requirements for hiring and fitness-for-duty exams, and those are a matter between you, your department and an eye doctor. A lubricating drop doesn’t change what a vision test measures. If dryness is affecting how well you see on the job, tell your eye doctor.

When to get your eyes checked

If dryness keeps coming back despite these changes, or if your eyes hurt or your vision changes, the label 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. Many officers find it easier to order in advance than to shop between shifts; Quell ships from Brentwood, Tennessee to any US address, with no subscription.