Dry eyes in a hotel room

Hotel rooms often feel dry because a heating and cooling unit runs hard in a small, closed space, and the windows rarely open. Heated or air-conditioned air speeds evaporation from the eye. Set a moderate temperature, keep the unit’s airflow off the bed, and keep Quell on the nightstand, not on top of the unit or in the car. The label’s storage line reads: Store between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F).

Why hotel rooms feel so dry

Most hotel rooms are heated and cooled by a single unit, either under the window or in the wall, that blows air straight into a room of a few hundred square feet. When it’s cold outside it heats; when it’s hot it cools. Either way it moves a lot of air past whoever is in the room, and much of that air is the same room air going around again.

The tear film’s outer oil layer slows evaporation, its watery middle keeps the eye’s surface wet, and each blink spreads a fresh coat. Dry air and moving air both pull water off that film faster. Put the two together in a sealed room for eight hours of sleep, and it’s easy to see why some travelers wake up with eyes that feel gritty.

Setting the thermostat and the fan

• Pick a moderate temperature rather than blasting heat or cold. The unit runs less often, so it pushes less air across the room.
• If the fan has an “auto” setting, use it. On “on” or “continuous,” the fan blows even when the unit isn’t heating or cooling.
• Check where the louvers point. If they aim at the bed or the desk chair, angle them toward the ceiling or the far wall.
• Use a low fan speed when you can. High is louder and moves more air.
• Close the bathroom door during a hot shower if you want the bedroom to stay cooler, and open it afterward if the room feels dry.

None of these settings replace eye drops, and none are on Quell’s label. They’re just ways to make the room less hard on your eyes while you’re in it.

Where to keep the bottle in a hotel room

The top of the heating unit is the warmest spot in the room in winter, and the sill above it gets direct sun in summer. Neither is a good home for a bottle. The nightstand, a drawer or your toiletry bag on a shelf keeps it at room temperature. Avoid the space beside a coffee maker, too.

Leaving the bottle in a rental car or your own car until morning is the more common mistake. In winter the car drops below the bottom of the range on the label, and in summer a parked car climbs above the top. If a bottle has been somewhere too hot or too cold, look at it before using it. The label’s Do not use line reads: If this product changes color. Product appears as a milky brown solution is what you should see.

Using drops in a hotel bathroom

Hotel counters are shared surfaces, cleaned between guests but not between your uses. Wash your hands first, set the cap on a clean tissue rather than the counter, and keep the tip in the air. The label puts it plainly: Do not touch tip of bottle to any surface to avoid contamination. The mirror makes it easier to aim. The directions don’t change on the road: Apply 1 drop 3 times per day in each eye.

Work trips and longer stays

Count how many days you’ll be away before you pack and bring the open bottle plus a sealed spare if it’s getting low. If you’re staying a week or more somewhere in the US and need more, Quell can be shipped to a hotel. Ask the front desk first whether they accept packages for guests, and put your name on the order exactly as it appears on the reservation. Some hotels ask you to add your arrival date to the address line. The guide to getting the shipping address right covers the address details.

Shipping is $10.00 per order, or free on 3 or more bottles, and you can follow the package on the order tracking page. The site doesn’t promise a delivery date, so leave time before your checkout day.

Waking up with dry eyes in a hotel

If you wake with dry eyes, a glass of water on the nightstand and a few slow blinks are a start. Quell’s label gives the same dose at home and away. It doesn’t say what time of day to use each of the three drops, so spacing is up to you within the directions, and a pharmacist can help if you’re unsure. Eyes that still hurt after a day or two in a dry room aren’t something to wait out. 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.

Away from home and need help

For an eye emergency, call 911 or ask the front desk for the nearest emergency room. For a question about an order, call 615.465.6041, M–F 9AM–5PM CST. The traveling with eye drops guide covers the trip around the hotel stay, and how to store eye drops covers the storage range in more detail.