Dry eyes while ice skating

Ice skating dries your eyes because you create your own wind. Every lap pushes cold air across your face, and cold, moving air pulls moisture off the tear film between blinks. Outdoor rinks add real wind and sun glare off the ice. Glasses or goggles that block airflow, breaks off the ice, and a lubricating drop used as labeled before and after skating help most.

Why do my eyes water and then feel dry after skating?

Cold wind on the eye often triggers watering first. Those reflex tears are mostly water, and they spill over or drain away without spreading the oil that keeps the tear film from evaporating. Once you step off the ice into a heated warming hut or car, the extra water is gone and the surface is left drier than before. That wet-then-gritty pattern is common after skating, sledding and other fast winter activities.

The tear film has three layers: mucus against the eye, a watery middle, and a thin oil layer on top. Blinking spreads all three. Anything that speeds evaporation or slows blinking works against it, and skating does a little of both.

Outdoor rinks and frozen ponds

Outdoor skating stacks several drying factors at once:

• Air temperature: cold air holds little moisture, so the air around you is dry even if snow is on the ground.
• Natural wind: a breeze across an open pond or a city plaza rink adds to the wind you make by moving.
• Glare: sun reflecting off ice makes people squint, and squinting replaces full blinks with partial ones.
• Time: a holiday skate or a pickup hockey game can stretch for hours with few real breaks.

Indoor arenas: still cold air

Indoor rinks avoid the wind and sun, but the air near the ice is kept cold, and you still make a breeze every time you skate. Hockey players, figure skaters and speed skaters in practice spend long sessions moving fast in that air. Parents and coaches sitting in the stands for hours often notice their eyes too, especially when they’re staring at a phone between periods.

Then there’s the lobby and the car. Arena lobbies, locker rooms and vehicles are heated, often with vents blowing warm, dry air. Going back and forth between the rink and those spaces is part of why eyes feel uncomfortable by the end of a tournament weekend.

Eye protection on the ice

• Sport glasses or wraparound sunglasses block most of the wind you create. Look for a snug fit so they stay put on a fall.
• Clear lenses work indoors; tinted or polarized lenses help outdoors in bright sun.
• Hockey visors and cages are about impact protection. A full visor also blocks much of the airflow; a cage doesn’t.
• A brimmed knit hat or helmet with a short brim cuts some glare at an outdoor rink.

Whatever you wear, follow your rink’s and your league’s equipment rules first. Falls on ice are the bigger risk.

When to use eye drops around skating

Quell’s Uses read: For use as a protectant against further irritation or to relieve dryness of the eye. It is designed to reinforce the tear film’s oil layer to help reduce moisture loss. The label’s directions are: Apply 1 drop 3 times per day in each eye, so plan them around your day rather than squeezing extra in at the rink. For a skater, that might look like:

• One drop in the morning, well before you head to the rink.
• One at a break in a warm, still spot like the lobby or the car, never while skating.
• One in the evening once you’re home.

Clean your hands first, since gloves and rink gear collect grime, and follow the handling rule: Do not touch tip of bottle to any surface to avoid contamination. If you wear contact lenses on the ice, Quell’s label doesn’t give directions for use with them; ask your eye doctor or pharmacist. Contact lenses and Quell explains what the label does and doesn’t say.

Skating trips and holiday rinks

Holiday skating often comes with travel: a city rink downtown, a mountain lodge pond, or a family visit with a trip to the local arena. Pack drops in your carry-on or day bag, not a checked suitcase or a car trunk. Visiting family with eye drops covers packing for a stay away.

Children skate too, and families often share gear. Quell’s label doesn’t give directions for children; ask their doctor or pharmacist before using it on a child. Bottles shouldn’t be shared between family members in any case.

Keeping the bottle out of the cold

A skate bag left in a cold car between practices isn’t a good place for eye drops. Quell’s label says: Store between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F). Keep the bottle in an inside coat pocket, close to your body, or in a bag that comes inside with you. If it does get very cold, let it warm to room temperature and check it before use: If this product changes color.

When it’s more than dry eyes

A puck, stick, blade or fall that hits the eye area needs medical attention, not drops. If your eyes still hurt or your vision changes after skating, follow the label: 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. Eye symptoms that need a doctor lists signs not to wait on.