Dry eyes on a winter hike

Winter hikes dry the eyes because cold air holds little moisture, wind on open ridges strips it from the eye’s surface, and sun reflecting off snow makes you squint. Sunglasses or goggles cut wind and glare. If you carry Quell, keep the bottle inside a layer close to your body, wash or sanitize your hands first, and follow the label: Apply 1 drop 3 times per day in each eye.

Why winter air dries your eyes

Cold air simply can’t hold as much water vapor as warm air, so a crisp January morning is dry even when the trail is covered in snow. Your eyes are one of the few wet surfaces exposed to it. Every breath of wind moves that dry air across the tear film and takes moisture with it. On a hike you’re also breathing hard, looking far ahead, and often blinking less while you watch your footing on ice.

Wind above the tree line

The trail below often feels sheltered. Then you step out onto a ridge, a bald or a summit and the wind hits all at once. Eyes often water heavily there: cold wind triggers reflex tears, which run down your face rather than spreading over the eye. That watering can leave the surface drier afterward, not wetter.

• Turn your face out of the wind for a minute when you reach an exposed spot.
• Pull a buff or neck gaiter up over your nose to block some of the gusts, without letting your breath fog your glasses.
• Switch to goggles on very windy days above the tree line.
• Rest in the lee of a rock or the trees rather than on the open crest.

Sun on snow: sunglasses and goggles

Fresh snow reflects a lot of sunlight back up at you, and the glare makes you squint for hours. Squinting tires the eyes, and unprotected eyes on snow can be hurt by the light itself. Wraparound sunglasses with side coverage, or goggles in strong wind, cut both glare and airflow. Ski goggles that seal against your face stop the most wind. Ski trips, cold wind and dry eyes covers the downhill version of this.

Carrying eye drops on a winter hike

A bottle in an outer hip-belt pocket or a pack’s side pouch gets as cold as the air. Quell’s label gives a storage range: Store between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F). A freezing ridge is well below that. Carry the bottle in an inside chest pocket of your mid layer, where your body keeps it warm, and it’ll be ready to use at a rest stop.

• Inside pocket of a fleece or puffy, zipped shut.
• Inside a small zip bag so sweat doesn’t reach it.
• Not in a car glovebox at the trailhead for the day, where it can freeze.
• If the bottle may have frozen, check its color before you use it. The label’s “do not use” line reads: If this product changes color.

Using drops on the trail

Hiking hands are dirty hands: trekking poles, tree bark, gloves, map pages and snacks. Wash your hands at the trailhead restroom if there is one, or use hand sanitizer and let it dry fully before handling the bottle. Do not touch tip of bottle to any surface to avoid contamination, so keep the cap on until the moment you use it and put it straight back on.

• Stop and find a spot out of the wind.
• Take off one glove; use the bare hand for the bottle.
• Tilt your head back, pull the lower lid down, look up and squeeze one drop.
• Close your eye gently for a moment, then do the other eye.
• Cap it, put the bottle back in the inside pocket, and glove up.

The label sets the count, three times a day in each eye, so plan them around the day: one at breakfast, one at the summit or lunch stop, one when you’re back at the car.

After the hike

The drive home or a warm cabin can feel like relief, but heated air is dry too. Point the car heater toward your feet and the windshield, not your face. At home, a humidifier in the room where you rest helps; Dry eyes from cold air covers the rest of the winter picture. If your eyes stay sore, gritty or sensitive to light after a day on bright snow, that’s a reason to call an eye doctor. Quell’s label sets 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.

Ordering before the season

If you hike through the winter, order before your trips rather than the week of, because no delivery date is promised. Quell ships within the US from Brentwood, Tennessee, and 3 bottles ship free. You can order as a guest and keep a spare at home.