Dry eyes in Omaha, Nebraska

Omaha’s air is humid for much of the summer, yet many people here still get dry eyes. The cause is usually the air you breathe indoors: air conditioning from June through September, then furnace heat from late fall into spring, plus a windy April outdoors. Keep vents off your face, run a humidifier in winter, blink fully at screens, and use a lubricating drop the way its label directs.

Omaha’s climate by the numbers

NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 climate normals for Eppley Airfield, on the Missouri River just northeast of downtown, show a city that needs both heat and cooling in serious amounts:

• July averages a high of 88.1°F and a low of 68.0°F.
• About 33 days a year reach 90°F or more.
• January averages a high of 33.6°F and a low of 15.2°F, and about nine nights a year dip below zero.
• Yearly precipitation is 31.86 inches, with May (4.66 inches) and August (4.60 inches) the wettest months and January (0.75 inches) the driest.
• Normal snowfall is 27.1 inches.
• The station logs about 5,830 heating degree days and about 1,290 cooling degree days a year.

Why do my eyes feel dry in humid weather?

Summer mornings in Omaha are muggy. NOAA’s humidity table puts the average morning relative humidity at 85 percent in July and 87 percent in August. So it seems odd that eyes would feel dry. The answer is that most Omahans spend summer days inside, where air conditioning pulls moisture out of the air and blows it around. An office vent, a car dash on the drive down Dodge Street or a bedroom window unit can each aim a dry stream straight at your face.

Moving air speeds evaporation from the tear film even when the air outside is damp. Angle the louvers down, sit out of the direct path of the vent, and give your eyes a few full blinks when you look up from the screen. Dry eyes in a hot, dry workplace has more for people who work near heat or fans.

Winter: the driest stretch indoors

From November through March the furnace takes over. January is the driest month outdoors by precipitation, and cold air carries little water to begin with. Heat it to room temperature and the indoor air turns noticeably dry, which is when people notice that gritty, tired feeling by late afternoon. NOAA’s data gives January an average afternoon humidity of 66 percent outdoors, but that number describes freezing air; the same air warmed inside a house feels far drier.

• Run a humidifier in the room where you sleep, and clean it on the maker’s schedule.
• Keep space heaters on the floor and pointed away from chairs and beds.
• Set the car heater to the floor or windshield settings instead of the face vents.
• Use the 20-20-20 habit at a screen: every 20 minutes, look about 20 feet away for 20 seconds and blink.

A windy, dusty April

NOAA’s Comparative Climatic Data table lists April as Omaha’s windiest month on average and August as its calmest. April afternoons are also the least humid of the year, at about 52 percent. That makes spring the season to protect your eyes outdoors: on a bike ride over the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge, a walk along the riverfront, a round of golf or a day of yard work, wraparound sunglasses cut both the wind and the blowing grit.

Omaha days that strain the eyes

• Office towers downtown and in the western business parks, where screen work fills the day.
• Long nights in a cold, dry arena or a packed ballpark for the College World Series in June.
• Hospital and clinic shifts around the medical campuses in midtown.
• Driving Interstate 80 or 680 at dusk with the heat or AC running.
• Fall harvest across eastern Nebraska and western Iowa, when field dust rides the wind into town.

Keeping eye drops in an Omaha car

Quell’s label says Store between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F). An Omaha car parked in the sun on a 90-degree afternoon can climb past the top of that range, and a January night in the driveway sits below the bottom of it. Keep the bottle in your bag and bring it inside. Can you leave eye drops in a hot car? covers what to check if one got too warm.

Where Quell fits

The Uses section says: For use as a protectant against further irritation or to relieve dryness of the eye. Quell is designed to reinforce the tear film’s oil layer to help reduce moisture loss, and it’s preservative-free, with Glycerol (1.0%), Polysorbate 80 (1.0%) and Light Mineral Oil (0.5%) as its active ingredients. Its directions are Apply 1 drop 3 times per day in each eye. The full panel, including the warning for people with egg or bird allergies, is on the Drug Facts page.

If your eyes stay uncomfortable after a week or two of better habits, see an eye doctor; the label also tells you when to stop: 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.

Getting Quell delivered in Omaha

Orders ship from Brentwood, Tennessee to any Nebraska address. Shipping is $10.00, and 3 bottles ship free. There are no promo codes to hunt for and no subscription. No delivery date is promised. The Omaha page and the Nebraska page list local details.