Winter isnt exactly kind to the moisture-loving areas of your body.
Your skin, hair, and nails are all at risk of gettingseriously dried out.
Your eyes are no exception since winter can make it feel like youve replaced them with tumbleweeds.
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Heres how you’ve got the option to do that.
Use rewetting drops before your eyes even begin to feel dry.
It is often better to be proactive and prevent your eyes from getting too dry, she says.
You should alsoavoid eye drops that promise to remove rednesssince they can actually make your eyes redder over time.
If over-the-counter eye drops dont add enough moisture to your eyes, talk to your doctor about prescription options.
Direct any heaters you use toward your body, not your face.
Dont let your attempts to stay warm sabotage your eyes.
When your eyes are already dry, blasting them with warm air isnt going to do you any favors.
Same goes for using the heater in your car, if you drive.
Even doing something as basic as using the defroster can be an issue.
The air can bounce off the windshield and hit your eyes right where it hurts, Dr. Fogt says.
If you should probably keep the defroster running, throw on a pair of sunglasses.
That should at least help to deflect some of the breeze.
It also brings us to our next point.
Wear sunglasses that provide full coverage to your eyes when you go outside.
That cruel winter wind is obviously whipping around cold air, but the air is typically dry, too.
If you’ve got the option to find ones with wrap-around frames, even better.
Use a humidifier in your bedroom or workspace (or both).
Make warm eyelid compresses a part of your morning and nightly routine.
A slew of different factors can cause dry eye.
This can cause your tears to evaporate too quickly, leaving your eyeballs feeling like mini-deserts.
For instance,rosacea can clog Meibomian glands, so warm compresses may be helpful.
The issue there is that blinking spreads your tear film across your eyes to help keep them moist.
Clean your place at least once a week, and focus on eliminating dust.
Any allergy that affects your eyes will also irritate dry eyes even further, Dr. Fogt says.
Heres exactly how toclean your home when you have a dust mite allergy.
Keep your distance from wood-burning fires.
The severity of your dry eye and frequency of fire exposure will likely determine your threshold here.
But if you have a fireplace at home, you may want to limit how often you use it.
If you make all these moves and your dry eye is still bothering you, talk to your doctor.
You may need to step up your treatment.
