If you live in a cold climate, you may know that the shift from warm to cold weather has a variety of different effects on your body. From burning lungs and dry skin to watery eyes, cold weather always makes its presence known the second that you step outside on a cold winter day. What is it about cold weather that causes our eyes to water? Learn about the effects of cold on our bodies and how it impacts our eyes.
How Does Cold Weather Impact Your Eyes
Our eyes are incredibly delicate and sensitive. The smallest irritation to your eye can cause redness, swelling and intense pain. When you experience irritation to your eye, it is most likely due to your cornea or conjunctiva, both of which protect and regulate your eyes natural functions. When these become inflamed, your bodys natural response is to offer protection through the creation of tears.
Tears are your eyes natural way of flushing irritants out of the eye. When your eye senses an irritant, your tear ducts kick into overtime to create excess tears to help get rid of whatever is causing the irritation. When the cold, dry winter air hits your eyes in the winter, your eyes get dried out and irritated very quickly, causing them to treat the cold air as an irritant. This causes your eyes to create excess tears, in hopes that making your eyes water will get rid of the irritation.
How To Prevent Watery Eyes In The Winter
Watery eyes is your bodys natural defenses kicking into gear to help defend against the irritation of the cold dry winter air. It is not harmful and is not something you need to panic about, but it can be an irritating symptom to deal with. There is no real way to limit your bodys response to cold air exposure other than reducing your contact with cold air during the winter. Although this may not be completely possible, there are a few tips that you can use to help regulate your eyes reaction to cold air:
- Wear glasses or sunglasses to protect your eyes from wind
- Use a humidifier when at home to help keep your eyes hydrated before going outside
- Use over-the-counter eye drops to lubricate your eyes while outside
Although watering eyes may be an irritating symptom, it is a normal symptom to experience when exposed to cold air during winter. Unfortunately, unless this is a chronic issue that occurs year round, it is unlikely that medical intervention will help stop your eyes from watering when you go outside in the winter. The best way to manage this symptom is by understanding what is causing it and taking action to help keep your eyes hydrated and protected during the colder winter months.
Visit AFC Urgent Care Burlington For Same-Day Health & Wellness Services
Watering eyes can be an irritating symptom. If you experience watering eyes regularly, a medical provider may be able to help identify the cause of your symptoms and offer treatment. The medical provdiers at AFC Urgent Care Burlington are board-certified and able to diagnose and treat a wide variety of conditions. We never require an appointment to be seen by our medical staff, simply walk into our clinic or schedule an appointment online today.
Cold weather can have a variety of impacts on our bodies. If you’re experiencing illness symptoms or struggling from the effects of cold weather, visit AFC Urgent Care Burlington for same-day health and wellness services without the need to schedule an appointment. Our walk-in clinic is open 7 days a week with extended business hours, all you have to do is walk in today. For additional information regarding our clinic, please contact us directly by calling 781-270-4700.
