Cold Weather Eyes

Image by yochim

I spent several hours in the car this weekend. I might add that I was pretty bored, even though Terese kept things somewhat interesting by sending me weird cell phone messages: A video featuring Greg asking to make a rest stop, the lyrics to 99 bottles of beer on the wall, and a picture of their home thermostat, for example. Good thing we have unlimited messaging on our phone plan. But I digress.

While in the car guffawing at my cell phone screen, for the first time this fall we cranked up the heater as the temps fell outdoors. As the inside of the car became toasty warm, I felt the return of uncomfortably dry eyes made worse by the decreased humidity of heated forced air. Without fail, the cold weather season results in more eye irritation for me. Whether in the car as described above, or in our home with the furnace at full blast, it seems that I use twice as many eye drops during wintertime. I have found that while Sjogren's dry eye is inevitable and irreversible for me, there are still a few things that I can do to minimize the evaporation of precious tears:

• This is the time of year that I switch to the gel-type drops. For me, they do cause some blurring, but I am willing to trade some slight blurring for longer-lasting relief. 
• I try to protect my eyes from forced air vents, and from wind gusts by wearing UV-blocking sunglasses with protective sides when driving or outdoors. 
• I have become very aware of how often I blink. By consciously blinking more frequently, my eyes are soothed as they are re-moisturized. This is especially helpful when I am working on my computer or driving. 
• There is some evidence that taking omega 3 fish oil supplements may reduce eye dryness. 

Wonder if there is any Halloween candy made with omega 3 oils? Candy candy candy candy....