Winter and Dry Eyes: Why the Cold Season Can Make Your Eyes Miserable

As temperatures drop and the winter season settles in, many people find themselves battling not just chapped lips and dry skin—but also dry, irritated eyes. If your eyes feel gritty, watery, or constantly tired during the colder months, you’re not alone. Winter can be one of the worst seasons for people who suffer from dry eyes.

Why Are Eyes Drier in Winter?

Several environmental and behavioural factors unique to winter contribute to dry eyes:

1. Low Humidity

Cold air naturally holds less moisture. When outdoor temperatures dip, the humidity drops with it. This dry air can quickly sap the moisture from your eyes, especially when it’s windy.

2. Indoor Heating

To stay warm, most of us rely on indoor heating systems. Unfortunately, internal heating, space heaters, and wood-burning stoves all make the air inside your home or office even drier, which can aggravate dry eye symptoms.

3. Wind and Cold Exposure

Windy conditions common in winter can increase tear evaporation, making eyes feel scratchy or uncomfortable. Even quick exposure—like walking to your car—can cause flare-ups in sensitive individuals.

4. More Screen Time

Shorter days mean more time spent indoors, often on digital devices. Staring at screens reduces your blink rate, which can lead to increased dryness and eye strain.

Common Symptoms of Winter-Related Dry Eye

• Burning or stinging sensation

• Redness or irritation

• Blurred vision that improves with blinking

• A gritty or sandy feeling in the eyes

• Excessive tearing (your eyes trying to compensate for the dryness)

Tips to Protect Your Eyes This Winter

If you're prone to dry eyes, winter doesn’t have to be a miserable season. Here are some simple steps you can take to manage your symptoms:

💧 Use a Humidifier

Running a humidifier in your home can help balance moisture levels and soothe dry eyes—especially in bedrooms and home offices.

🧤 Shield Your Eyes Outdoors

Wearing wraparound sunglasses or goggles can protect your eyes from wind and cold air when you're outside.

💻 Take Screen Breaks

Follow the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds. It helps refresh your tear film and reduce strain.

👁️ Apply Artificial Tears

Over-the-counter lubricating eye drops can provide instant relief and help maintain moisture throughout the day. Look for preservative-free versions if you need to use them frequently.

Cationorm eye drop is what our Optometrist’s recommend- Its available in store and online.

🚫 Avoid Direct Heat from Heaters

Try not to sit directly in front of heaters or fireplaces. The hot, dry air blowing in your face can intensify dryness.

🔥Warm Compresses

Using Eye heat masks on your eyes to improve meibomian gland function and tear quality.

We have a range of heat mask options available from basic microwave masks to electric heat mask with temperature control.

Treatment For Dry Eye

• Blephasteam moist heat therapy: Blephasteam is a safe and painless way to relieve symptoms associated with Meibomian Gland Dysfunction. Blephasteam maintains the perfect therapeutic temperature and environment to melt the thickened secretions with our Meibomian glands. The result is better production of oils required for high quality tears, and improved dry eye symptoms. Blephasteam treatments may require repeating depending on the severity of your dry eye conditions. 

• Meibomian Oil Gland expression: This is a simple therapy to open the glands in your lower eyelid if they have become blocked. An expression is preformed after the Blephasteam moisture heat therapy with a special instrument used by the optometrist to clear the glands of the blocked oils. 

• Blephex Treatment: The Blephex is an instrument that directly helps treat Anterior Blepharitis, where crusty material gathers along the eyelids and eyelashes. It is similar to an electric toothbrush. A gentle rotating sponge soaked in cleanser is applied across the top and bottom lid margins to remove the crusty particles. This can tickle but does not hurt. 

• Tear Stim - IRPL (intense regulated pulsed light) treatment: IRPL provides a long lasting solution to improve comfort by restoring the function of meibomian glands, stabilising the lipid layer of the tear film. This is a state of the art treatment with time efficiency and a clinically proven way to manage dry eye. IRPL is considered the BEST option to treat dry eye as it targets a number of different areas: 

- Warms and liquifies before gland expression
- Stimulates meibomian glands, enhancing collagen synthesis
- Decreases inflammation (allows glands to heal)
- Antibacterial and antiparasitic effects (combats blepharitis)
- Connective tissue rejuvenation, decreasing blocked glands
- Clinical studies to prove 90% satisfaction rate after 2 treatments (4 is recommended)

Click the link to find out more about Dry Eye Treatments available in sore and at home:

https://www.dryeyeclinic.com.au/

Winter is tough on your eyes, but understanding the triggers and taking proactive steps can go a long way in reducing discomfort. Whether you're outside braving the weather or just curled up with a book by the heater, don't forget to show your eyes some extra care this season.