How Does Cold Weather Affect Eyes? -Dry and cold air can harm your eyes. Experts tells you how to protect your eyes in winter.
With the onset of winter, keeping our body warm becomes the top priority to prevent catching a cough, cold, or fever. But you need to take care of your eyes too. Most of us think that eye issues or infections are more common in summer. But the winter season can also bring along a plethora of eye-related problems. The dry and cold air can harm your eyes too.
How cold weather affects our eyes? Get to know from Dr. Priyanka Singh (MBBS, MS, DNB, FAICO), Consultant & Eye Surgeon, Neytra Eye Centre, New Delhi. She also shares tips on how to protect your eyes in winters.
Common eye problems in winter
Compared to the rest of the year, winter air is often drier. Dr. Priyanka talks about some common eye issues people may face in winter. She says:
- Dry and cold air can cause or exacerbate dry eye symptoms like foreign body sensation, feeling of keeping eyes closed, inability to work on the computer, dryness of eyes, reflex watering, itchiness of eyes, and tiredness.
- Allergy in eyes: Winter affects some people more and they can present with swelling of eyelids, flakiness in eyelashes, inflammation in eyes, itching, burning sensation, pain in eyes, and increased dry eye. This is known as Allergic Blepharitis and Allergic Conjunctivitis.
- Solar Retinopathy: This usually occurs where the reflection of the sun is high like on beaches and snow. People tend to spend time in the sunlight in winter. Increased reflection from the sun can cause sunburn, retinal damage K/A Solar retinopathy as well as increases the chances of cataracts, and macular degeneration.
- Viral conjunctivitis: Viral infections are more predominant in winter, especially in children. It can lead to viral conjunctivitis.
- Blurring of vision due to corneal freezing: When exposed to extremely low temperature, vessels in the eyes constrictand it can cause occasional/temporary blurring of vision.
Tips to take care of eyes during the winter season
Dr. Priyanka advises people to follow the tips given below to prevent eye problems in winter:
- Wear sunglasses outdoors and in sunlight
- Apply sunscreen lotion on the face with SPF 30+ whenever you step out in sun in winter or on a cloudy day.
- Can use the counter lubricant eyedrops to keep your eyes moist.
- Avoid touching or rubbing your eyes often. Keep hands clean by washing them with soap and water to avoid the risk of infection.
- Do not get your eye exposed to hot or cold air. Use a humidifier at home or the workplace to keep your eyes and body moist.
- Drink 2-3 liters of water in winter to keep hydration at a normal level.
- Have plenty of vegetables and fruits and include nuts and seeds (like flaxseeds) in your diet.
- In case of an allergy of eye or blepharitis visit your ophthalmologist to get the best treatment. How Does Cold Weather Affect Eyes? | Home
