Dry eyes can really make wearing contacts a drag. Dry eyes are more common in the winter, when the air is drier inside due to the use of heaters. Here are a few ways to fight back against dry eyes so you can comfortably wear contacts.
#1 Add a Humidifier to Your Home
It can get really dry in the wintertime, and the use of heaters in your home can make the environment even more dry. Luckily, your home is one place where you can control the moisture level.
You can get a small humidifier for the rooms that you hang out most in, such as your living room and your bedroom. A small room size humidifier will help add moisture back into the air in those rooms. Just make sure that you refill the water levels when it gets low.
If dry air is a long-term problem, you can have a whole home humidifier installed. This type of system usually works together with your heating and cooling system, and will help improve the humidity level in your entire home.
#2 Increase Your Use of Eye Drops
During the winter, you will need to increase your use of eye drops if you want to wear your contacts. Eye drops are one of the best ways to fight back against dryness in areas where you can't control the humidity levels, such as at school or at work.
Check with your eye doctor to see what type of eye drops you should use to fight back against dryness. You want to use eye drops that will work well with your contacts and give you the relief that you need.
#3 Increase Your Water Intake
Next, you need to increase how much water you drink. Just because it is cold outside doesn't mean that you need to reduce how much water you drink. Staying well hydrated is one way to make sure that your eyes don't get dried out. When you are dehydrated, your eyes are more likely to bug you as well.
#4 Reduce Your Contact Usage
Finally, you may want to reduce your contact usage. When you get home in the evening, take your contacts off and use your glasses for the evening. Giving your eyes a break is often one of the best solutions for fighting back against dry eyes with your contacts.
If dry eyes are getting you down, add more moisture to your environment with a humidifier and add more moisture to your eyes by drinking more water and using eye drops. These steps should help you fight winter dry eye and make wearing contacts more comfortable in the wintertime.
For more information, reach out to your optometrist and make sure that you get your annual eye exam. In some cases, dry eyes can be as symptom of an underlying problem that can be detected during an exam.
Share4 February 2019
When a friend of mine started experiencing cloudy vision, they decided to put off a trip to their optometrist's office. Unfortunately, three months later, they found themselves completely blind in one eye—a condition that ended up being permanent. It turned out that they had an undiagnosed eye infection that destroyed their vision. After hearing about that problem, we realized that it might be smart to visit our eye doctor early—before permanent problems set in. Check out this blog for reasons not to skip out on early vision appointments, so that you can protect your family's vision and keep everyone happy and healthy.
