By Dr. med. Alen Sulzbacher

In cold and windy conditions, many people complain that their eyes water more than normal. Colder, windier and all-round harsher weather causes tears to evaporate more quickly, sending your tear ducts into overdrive in an attempt to keep your eyes protected. In fact, these factors typically cause dry eyes which surprisingly enough, are often the primary cause of watery eyes.

The eyes are protected by a layer of moisture. As this dries out, the tear ducts end up producing too many tears in order to compensate for the external factor like the cold weather that's drying out your eyes. These tears can then begin to spill out of the eye, causing watery eyes.

There are some tips for prevention or to minimise the discomfort caused by dry eyes and watery in winter.

People tend to spend much more time indoors watching more television and more time using computers. If we are doing anything that needs a lot of visual attention we blink much less that means the symptoms gets worse. Remember to take breaks and looking at something away of the long standing focusing point.

The lower levels of light in winter can makereading and close tasks more difficult. Extra light in general can help and lighting should be to direct exactly where you need it most.

Avoid high central heating, use a humidifier at work and at home. Opening windows for a few minutes on cold days will also help.

The proper treatment for dry eyes depends upon the cause. Adding extra moisture to watery eyes may seem counter-productive, but the drops of tears substitute will help to stop your eyes drying out in the first place which, is often the cause of watery eyes.

I would recommend using some good eye drops regularly and to have good quality of ultraviolet protection sunglasses. Do not forget that a proper medical evaluation by eye specialist is important to rule out medical conditions.

Let´s keep our eyes healthy and enjoy our sunny winter season!

For further advice, please contact Dr. med. Alen Sulzbacher by calling 289 353 433, 289 543 545 or 218 025 501