Dry eyes for security guards

Security guards’ eyes often feel dry from watching camera monitors for hours, which slows blinking, from night shifts that cut into sleep, and from outdoor posts in wind, cold or sun. Break up monitor watching with scans of the room, keep vents and heaters off your face, wear glasses outdoors, and use a lubricating drop as its label directs. See an eye doctor if dryness doesn’t settle.

Watching camera monitors

A wall of camera feeds asks for steady, close attention, the kind that cuts your blink rate. Many control rooms also run air conditioning around the clock to keep the equipment cool, which dries the air. A few changes help:

• Scan the room or look through a window every so often, and blink fully a few times before returning to the screens.
• Sit far enough back that you can see the whole monitor wall by moving your eyes, not opening them wide.
• Lower the brightness of monitors that are much brighter than the room, and cut glare from overhead lights where you can.
• Ask whether a vent blowing at your seat can be redirected.

Our guide to dry eyes with multiple monitors has more setup ideas that apply to a console.

Night shifts and short sleep

Night and rotating shifts make it hard to get enough sleep, and eyes that stay open for long stretches have more time to dry. Late in a shift, people often stare rather than blink. Keeping a regular sleep schedule on days off, darkening the bedroom for daytime sleep, and keeping the bedroom cool all help. Our guide to dry eyes on the night shift covers sleep and the drive home in more depth.

Outdoor posts: gates, lots and patrols

Standing at a gate, walking a parking lot or patrolling a construction site exposes the eyes to wind, dust, cold and sun. Each speeds evaporation from the tear film. On those posts:

• Wear wraparound sunglasses by day and clear safety glasses at night, if your employer allows them.
• Stand with your back to the wind when you can.
• In a guard booth, aim a space heater at your legs, not your face.
• In a patrol vehicle, point the heater and air conditioning vents at your chest or the floor.

Lobby and front desk posts

A lobby desk can be drier than it seems. Doors opening to cold or hot air, ceiling vents above the desk and long hours checking IDs and visitor logs on a screen all add up. If a vent blows on your post, ask building management about redirecting it, and take your break somewhere away from the airflow.

Carrying eye drops on duty

Quell is a lubricating eye drop designed to reinforce the tear film’s oil layer to help reduce moisture loss. Its label states its Uses as For use as a protectant against further irritation or to relieve dryness of the eye, and its directions as Apply 1 drop 3 times per day in each eye. It holds .33 fl oz (10 mL), so it fits in a uniform pocket or a small pouch.

Where you keep it matters. The label says Store between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F). An outer pocket on a winter patrol or a vehicle parked in summer sun can go beyond that range, so an inside pocket or your locker is better. Gloves and keys pass through many hands, so wash or sanitize your hands before using drops, and follow the label: Do not touch tip of bottle to any surface to avoid contamination. Read the egg and bird allergy caution on our Drug Facts page before trying it.

If you wear contact lenses or use prescription eye drops, ask your eye doctor before adding Quell, because its label doesn’t cover those situations.

Timing drops around your post

Choose a moment when you can step away from active watching, such as a scheduled break or a relief handover. Give your eyes a moment after a drop before returning to monitors or driving a patrol vehicle. Don’t put drops in while driving.

Ordering Quell

Quell ships from Brentwood, Tennessee, to US addresses, with guest checkout and tracking by email. Shipping is $10.00, and 3 or more bottles ship free. No delivery date is promised, so order before you’re out. Unopened bottles can be refunded within 30 days of delivery without returning them. See prices.

When to see an eye doctor

If dryness keeps coming back, or your vision seems hazy at the end of every shift, an eye doctor can work out the cause and what to do about it. The label gives clear limits: 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. If grit or debris gets into your eye on an outdoor post and won’t rinse out, get it looked at promptly.