How do I know if I need eye drops?

A lubricating drop may make sense if your eyes feel dry, gritty, scratchy or mildly irritated, especially after screens, wind or heated air. That matches what Quell’s label lists as its use: For use as a protectant against further irritation or to relieve dryness of the eye. Pain, changes in vision, or symptoms that persist or worsen are different; those are reasons to see an eye doctor rather than buy drops.

What lubricating drops are for

An over-the-counter drop is defined by its Drug Facts label, and the Uses line tells you its job. For Quell, that line reads: For use as a protectant against further irritation or to relieve dryness of the eye. Two ideas are in there: relieving dryness, and protecting against further irritation. If what you feel fits one of those, a lubricating drop is in the right category. If it doesn’t, a drop probably isn’t the answer.

Our guide to what lubricating eye drops are explains how they differ from other kinds of drops on the shelf.

Signs your eyes are dry

People describe dryness in many ways. These are some of the common ones:

• A gritty or sandy feeling, as if something is in the eye.
• Scratchiness or a mild burning sensation.
• Eyes that feel tired by midafternoon, especially on screen-heavy days.
• A need to blink hard or rub your eyes.
• Vision that blurs briefly and clears when you blink.
• Watery eyes in wind or cold, which can happen when the surface is dry and the eye responds with a rush of tears.

Situations that tend to dry eyes

Context helps. If your symptoms show up in predictable places, that’s a clue they’re related to dryness:

• Long stretches at a computer or phone, when blinking slows.
• Heated rooms in winter or air-conditioned offices in summer.
• Car vents blowing at your face.
• Windy, dry or high-altitude places.
• Airplane cabins.
• Late nights when you’re tired and your eyes have been open for many hours.

If your eyes feel fine on weekends away from a screen and dry every workday afternoon, that pattern is worth noticing, and worth mentioning to an eye doctor.

Keep a short symptom log

A week of notes answers the question better than memory does. Each day, jot down when your eyes felt dry or irritated, what you were doing, and where you were. Note the room (office, car, bedroom), whether a heater, fan or air conditioner was running, and roughly how long you’d been at a screen. Also note anything that made it better, like stepping outside, closing your eyes for a minute or going to bed early. Patterns show up quickly. If the log points to one place or one activity, start there. If symptoms show up everywhere and at all hours, or if they’re getting stronger over the week, that’s useful to bring to an eye doctor, and it makes the appointment more productive.

Try the self-check

Our dry eye self-check asks a few questions about what you’re feeling and when, then suggests next steps. It’s not a diagnosis. Think of it as a way to organize what you’ve noticed, whether you then try a lubricating drop, change your habits, or book an appointment.

Things to try alongside or before a drop

Some dryness responds to small changes in your surroundings. These cost nothing and are worth trying either way:

• Look away from your screen every twenty minutes and blink fully a few times.
• Point car and desk vents at your body instead of your face.
• Run a humidifier in a heated bedroom.
• Wear wraparound sunglasses in wind.
• Drink enough water through the day.

When it’s a doctor’s question instead

Some symptoms aren’t a reason to buy drops. They’re a reason to call an eye doctor. Our list of eye symptoms that need a doctor covers them in detail. In general:

• Eye pain, rather than mild discomfort.
• A change in vision that doesn’t clear with blinking.
• Sensitivity to light that’s new.
• Discharge, swelling or crusting.
• Symptoms after an injury or a chemical splash.
• Symptoms in only one eye that keep getting worse.

If you start a lubricating drop, the label 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.

If you decide to try Quell

Read the caution first: Caution should be used in those with egg or bird allergies — For use in the eyes only. The directions read: Apply 1 drop 3 times per day in each eye. Follow the handling line every time: Do not touch tip of bottle to any surface to avoid contamination. The label doesn’t give directions for contact lens wearers, children, or use with other drops; ask your eye doctor or pharmacist about those. The full panel is on the Drug Facts page.

Quell is sold without a prescription and ships within the United States from Brentwood, Tennessee. If you order and decide it isn’t for you, an unopened bottle can be refunded within 30 days of delivery without sending it back.