Are Your Eyes Ready for the Holidays?

The holidays can be an extremely busy time. Between buying gifts, seeing family, and cooking (and/or eating) amazing food, it can be easy to accidentally neglect certain aspects of your health. Finding eye care can be especially tricky.

To help everyone prepare for this time of year, I have put together this “Eye Care Survival Checklist”. These quick and easy tips might help your eyes stay merry and bright this holiday season.

1. Invest in Your Eye Hygiene NOW

People tend to have more dry eyes over the winter months. That burning, scratchy sensation that comes with dry eyes can be exacerbated by things like space heaters and dust and allergens in the air. When your eyes are dry they often have a red, tired appearance, which coupled with that feeling of ocular irritation can certainly put a damper on the holiday spirit. To prepare for the holidays, try and make sure your ocular hygiene is as good as possible.

If you wake up with crusty, tired eyes in the morning, a lid wipe (ex. Blephaclean, Systane Lid Wipes) might be a way to help clean off bacteria and debris to make your eyes feel less irritated. Artificial tears (like Hyabak, Refresh or Systane) throughout the day could help refresh the eyes and reduce that scratchy sensation, as well as reduce the redness. Finally, warm compresses can help open up the oil glands along the lids, meaning that the eyes receive more natural lubrication. A warm compress is also a nice way to take a break from all the holiday hustle (like a mini spa break!). Talk to your eye doctor about the best ways to maximize your eye hygiene over the holiday season.

2. Put Together Your Emergency Eye Kit

Putting together an Emergency Eye Kit is a MUST. If you travel for the holidays, you don’t want to forget your essential eye supplies at home. Having an Emergency Eye Kit also takes away the pressure of having to find a store or pharmacy that is open. Some recommendations for your Emergency Eye Kit are:

1. Saline (to rinse the eyes if needed)

2. A spare pair of contact lenses, a spare contact lens case, and contact lens solution

3. Lid wipes (to clean off dust, debris and bacteria)

4. Artificial tears (to lubricate the eyes)

5. Glasses cleaner and a lens cloth

6. A backup pair of glasses

3. Set Reminders for Yourself

When you’ve had a long day, it can be easy to neglect some of the basic ocular hygiene tasks that you would typically do, such as removing your contact lenses. If you are a contact lens wearer, make sure to set an alarm on your phone reminding you to take your contact lenses out. Trust me, you do not want to accidentally sleep in your contacts, wake up with an eye infection, and have to find a doctor that is able to help you on a holiday. It might even be beneficial to take your contacts out earlier in the night and wear glasses instead so you don’t run into the situation of forgetting them in your eyes. Sleeping with your makeup on can also cause irritation or infection, so be sure to remove it appropriately to help avoid any early morning trips to the ER.

4. If Something Feels Wrong With Your Eyes Before the Holidays, DO NOT WAIT

Let me give you an example. Your vision has been reduced for a few weeks now, and while it concerns you, you think you can get through the holiday season before you need to have it checked out. When there are sudden changes to your vision or eye health you should have your eyes examined as soon as possible. It is also better to have your eyes assessed and treated before the holiday season, rather than during, as hospitals and optometry offices may have reduced holiday hours and staff. Even for something like needing new glasses, it is worth having your eyes looked at sooner rather than later. The holidays could be a frustrating time if you are trying to squint your way through the season.

5. When in Doubt, Go to the ER

The ER remains open over the holiday season and there is typically an eye doctor on call for emergency visits. However, this may not be true of each ER, and be prepared to either have to wait a very long time, or travel to a different hospital in order to receive emergency eye care. It is better to have your eyes looked at immediately, rather than wait until things open back up, to help preserve your vision.

The holidays are filled with so many happy sights and sparkling lights. Be sure that your eyes are as healthy as possible so that you can make the most of this wonderful season!

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