Winter ailments: The eyes have them

The lower humidity associated with winter can dry out your skin and make your hair brittle if you’re not careful.

Cold, dry weather can also play havoc with your eyes, so here’s a primer on winter eye ailments and what to watch out for. Not only can they make you feel miserable, but they could potentially damage the eye.

Before we start, though, let’s all agree that we’re not going to rub our eyes.

“Rubbing may make your tired eyes feel a little better, but you run the risk of injuring the cornea, introducing bacteria or even breaking a blood vessel,” says Dr. Lonn Yang, an optometrist with AccuVision, a group of local eye care centers.

So, hands off those eyes!

Dry eyes

What do we do in the winter? We stay inside and crank up the heat, which makes the air dry and may cause your eyes to dry out.

“If left untreated, dry eyes can lead to a scratched cornea, corneal ulcers, even vision loss,” Yang says.

She recommends that we stay well hydrated, use a humidifier indoors and avoid sitting directly in front of blowing hot air.

There are lots of treatments for dry eye, everything from over-the-counter artificial tears to prescription medications to treatments that unclog oil glands in the eyelids, says Yang.

“For more severe cases, our doctors can prescribe medications and specialized eye drops, such as serum tears, which are derived from the patient’s own blood,” she says.

Teary eyes

Cold weather can also bring on the opposite problem: too many tears.

“Winter winds and cold temperatures can sometimes cause your eyes to produce excessive tears,” Yang says. Wearing sunglasses to shield your eyes from wind and cold can help.

Conjunctivitis

Viruses that thrive in the winter may cause eye infections called conjunctivitis, commonly known as pink eye. Symptoms include a gritty feeling in your eye, redness, burning, itching, puffy eyelids, light sensitivity and watery eyes.

“Symptoms usually begin in one eye and spread to the other eye days later,” Yang says.

Yang notes that there are no effective treatments for viral conjunctivitis, but “keeping your eyelids clean, using artificial tears and applying a cold compress can help with the symptoms.”

Conjunctivitis can also be caused by bacteria. Bacterial conjunctivitis has similar symptoms (swelling, redness, itching) and may cause a pus-like discharge. Both forms of conjunctivitis are very contagious, and often spread quickly among children in classrooms.

Children with pink eye may need to stay home from school or child care if they have a fever, can't avoid close contact or can’t practice good hygiene.

Snow blindness

UV eye protection is particularly important in winter because when snow is on the ground, it reflects sunlight into your eyes. Essentially, your eyes get sunburned.

“Snow blindness, also known as photokeratitis, is a painful eye condition that occurs when the cornea is exposed to excessive UV rays,” Yang says. “It can cause inflammation and temporarily impair your vision.”

The best treatment is prevention, by wearing UV-blocking sunglasses or snow goggles. But if you do experience snow blindness, take time to rest your eyes, apply a cold washcloth over your closed eyes and keep your eyes moist. Ibuprofen can ease pain, but “if symptoms persist more than a couple of days or your vision is significantly impaired, see your eye doctor as soon as possible,” Yang recommends.

Allergies

We’re indoors with our pets and dust a lot more in the winter. If those red, itchy eyes or pink eye don’t clear up after treatment, you may have allergies. Common causes are pet dander, dust and mold, and irritants like perfume and tobacco smoke.

Eye allergies develop when the body’s immune system becomes sensitized and overreacts to something in the environment that typically causes no problem in most people.

“Your cells respond by releasing histamine and other substances or chemicals that cause tiny blood vessels to leak and the eyes to become itchy, red and watery,” Yang says. “Symptoms are similar to other eye ailments, but the challenge is tracking down the cause.”

An allergist can conduct more a more detailed exam to identify the source of your eye allergy and determine the proper treatment.

Be kind to your eyes during the winter. Keep them moist and take frequent breaks if you’re staring at a screen all day. Wear sunglasses and prescription glasses that block UV rays. Of all the organs in our body, our eyes are one of the most precious.

“Winter eyes” them!

• Teri (Dreher) Frykenberg, a registered nurse, board-certified patient advocate, is the founder of www.NurseAdvocateEntrepreneur.com, which trains medical professionals to become successful private patient advocates. She is the author of “How to Be a Healthcare Advocate for Yourself & Your Loved Ones,” available on Amazon. Frykenberg offers a free phone consultation to readers. Contact her at Teri@NurseAdvocateEntrepreneur.com.