You look forward to spring when the temps warm up and the world goes from gray to green. Unfortunately, this time of year can also wreak havoc on your eyes, especially if you’re one of the more than 81 million people in the United States who have seasonal allergies.
To help your eyes better weather the springtime hazards, Dr. Curtis Frank and the team here at Vision and Ortho-K Center gathered a few strategies and best practices, which we outline below.
We mentioned that more than 81 million people in the US are diagnosed with seasonal allergies, but not all of them develop symptoms in the eyes. That said, allergic conjunctivitis, which is the medical term for allergy symptoms in your eyes, affects up to 40% of the population, so there’s a good deal of crossover.
Even if you fall short of qualifying for allergic conjunctivitis, the pollen that flies through the air in springtime can still irritate your eyes, and we want to keep this irritation to a minimum.
The reason we’re concerned about springtime irritants goes above your comfort — if your eyes are irritated, you may rub them, which can damage your eyes.
Seasonal allergies or no, here are some practices to promote eye health during the spring:
Buy some saline solution or eye drops and rinse your eyes regularly or whenever they feel irritated. This is an especially good practice when you head indoors after being outside in the pollen-filled air.
Another practice for when you come inside is to rinse or wash your face, paying close attention to your eyelids and eyelashes, where pollen can gather.
Protecting your eyes every time you go out is another great practice, so grab your sunglasses, especially on breezy days.
If the wind is up, so too are irritants in the air. If you wear contact lenses, we suggest that you leave them at home on windy days and use glasses with protective lenses instead.
During springtime, we want you to take great care of your lenses. Make sure you don’t skip contact lens cleaning, as you want to rinse out any irritants each night. Also, be sure to change the solution daily.
If you wear regular glasses and sunglasses, we suggest that you clean these corrective lenses, too, as pollen can stick to any surface.
If your seasonal allergies and allergic conjunctivitis are moderate to severe, you should keep up with your allergy medications. For our part, we can prescribe specific eye drops for allergic conjunctivitis that can provide your eyes with a good deal of relief.
If you want more guidance about protecting your eyes this spring, we're happy to help. To get started, please make an appointment at one of our offices in Boston or Newton Upper Falls, Massachusetts.
