Dry eyes while on vacation – an underestimated problem

The air in aeroplanes makes your eyes dry out.

The air in aeroplanes makes your eyes dry out.

© kasto

The phrase “vacation illness” makes most people think of gastrointestinal problems, sunburn, allergies or food poisoning – but not of dry eyes. Yet precisely when travelling, there is a lot which can encourage and even make worse the characteristic symptoms such as burning, itching and foreign body sensation. A few precautions and lubricating eye drops from the pharmacy can prevent this.

The following factors encourage the development of dry eyes during a trip

There are some “stress factors” to which your eyes are subjected on your way to your vacation and at your resort. These include:
 

  • Blowers: draughts, whether in a car, a train or in a plane are always bad for your eyes. The flow of air makes the tear film rupture – your eye dries out.
  • Direct sunlight: in some vacation destinations, the sun is a lot stronger than in Germany. The UV light can cause inflammatory irritation of your eyes.
  • Wind: gusts of wind, as occur in coastal regions for example, can lead to dry eyes.
  • Chlorinated water: the water in swimming pools also irritates your eyes.
  • Air-conditioning units: not only the heating dries out room air and attacks and destabilises the lacrimal fluid, so too do air-conditioning units.
     

All these factors result in your eyes not being lubricated with enough fluid. This leads to irritation, often to redness and the sensation of having a foreign body in the eye.
 

Simple measures can help prevention

Basically, your eyes should be protected from negative influences. If you can have an influence on the blowers in your transportation to and from your destination, you should make sure that the ventilation slits are not aiming at your or your children’s eyes. Protect your eyes at your resort with sunglasses. This has two simultaneous benefits: UV rays are filtered out and at the same time, no wind gets into your eyes. The same effect can be achieved with a sun hat with a broad brim which you pull low over your face.

It is best to wear swimming goggles when you go swimming in the pool, so that no chlorine gets into your eyes. If you do not want to do this, you should at least abstain from going underwater. It is also sensible not to spend too much time in heavily air-conditioned buildings, such as shopping centres, and also not to have the air-conditioning in the hotel room operating continuously.

In addition, there are a few general things which you can pay attention to with regard to dry eyes:
 

  • Make sure you drink enough. Two litres a day is ideal. If it is really hot, you can easily have a litre more.
  • Avoid wearing contact lenses almost round the clock. These can further dry out your eyes.
  • Avoid tobacco smoke.
     

Lubricating eye drops counteract dry eyes

Eye drops from the pharmacy can be used both quickly and simply as required and also easily carried in hand luggage. Therefore, they are the ideal companion on your vacation trip. Make sure that your products does not contain any preserving agents. These would only further irritate your already stressed eyes.

Here you have an overview of the preservative-free HYLO® EYE CARE products range.

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