Dry eyes

[fruitcake]

As a glasses wearer, I get very dry eyes after a couple of hours of cycling, to the extent that it makes the eyes irritable and subsequently makes computer use uncomfortable.

Maybe this would happen if I was not a wearer of glasses too, I wouldn't know!

Does anyone else here experience this, and if so how do you deal with it / prevent it?

[andrew_s]

I doubt that glasses have much to do with it.

I also wear glasses, and I've the opposite problem, in that after about 1 km, I've got tears running down my face, followed by dripping out of my nose once I've been out long enough for my lacrymal ducts to flush out.

[T42]

I bought a 33€ helmet with a magnetic visor on Amazon.  Crappy hat, needs a thickish skullcap to be comfortable, but it might be a solution to both problems, at least on the bike.  The visor will snap on over a rain cover, too.

Amazon UK link

Mine came with a clear visor and a darker one, YMMV but you can buy separate clear ones if yours doesn't.  The daft wee rearlight was only held in by friction and fell out. Good riddance.

I believe one of the more reputable helmet purveyors has brought out a similar product at about 3 times the price.

[fruitcake]

Thanks all.
T42, does this helmet visor fit over glasses?

[Sergeant Pluck]

I doubt that glasses have much to do with it.

I also wear glasses, and I've the opposite problem, in that after about 1 km, I've got tears running down my face, followed by dripping out of my nose once I've been out long enough for my lacrymal ducts to flush out.

That's because of dry eyes: the oil secreting glands along the edges of the eyelids are not producing enough, so your body compensates by producing more tears. Anything below about 7 degrees C and both my eyes are in full flow, glasses or not. I started a thread about the issue a while back.

[fruitcake]

I see there is such a thing as MTB goggles. I would be willing to give those a try - I'd be willing to give anything a try - though I'd need a pair that fit over glasses, obvs. I would prefer non-lurid colours, which puts me at odds with the MTB industry it would seem.

Any glasses wearers here who use MTB goggles?

[sparklyfish]

I have never tried goggles, but wear these sunglasses over the top of my normal specs: https://cocoons.uk/

There are cheaper Cocoons available on Amazon, which I've found okay, but naturally the official Cocoons website ones are more comfortable. Last time I got the Amazon ones they were about £20, so may be cheap enough to be worth a try??

[Canardly]

Your tear ducts may need a bit of help. There are reusable heat pads available that are supposed to unclog things.

[lissotriton]

I see there is such a thing as MTB goggles. I would be willing to give those a try - I'd be willing to give anything a try - though I'd need a pair that fit over glasses, obvs. I would prefer non-lurid colours, which puts me at odds with the MTB industry it would seem.

Any glasses wearers here who use MTB goggles?

Oakley L-frame goggles are designed to fit over glasses (and available in black). I've got some, they can be nice for really cold weather.

Main problem is the goggles and/or glasses steaming up. Maybe there's ways of preventing this, ie anti-fog coatings, not sure how well they work.
Or some goggles are designed to have more ventilation. But that might just cause dry eyes.

[cygnet]

Thanks all.
T42, does this helmet visor fit over glasses?

Visors tend to do that by default. (The visor being shaped to blend with the helmet profile rather than flush with your face.
The offset from your face to the visor helps with fogging issues too. (On the visor, not on the glasses)

[wooger]

As a glasses wearer, I get very dry eyes after a couple of hours of cycling, to the extent that it makes the eyes irritable and subsequently makes computer use uncomfortable.

Maybe this would happen if I was not a wearer of glasses too, I wouldn't know!

Does anyone else here experience this, and if so how do you deal with it / prevent it?

A few possibilities;
If it's wind getting to your eyes, wear cycling glasses that block the wind better that your normal glasses (plus contacts). Precription lenses often don't work well in the curved shapes that are best for cycling, and are really bloody expensive either way, so I wear contacts and non prescription cycling glasses.

If you can swing it, get new glasses or cycling glasses that have transitions photochromic lenses. I find my normal glasses with this are very comfy to wear in all conditions cycling, and darken up even on winter days when you'd never consider wearing sunnies, showing that your eyes do need the protection.

Visit an optician and get them to take a look at your eyes, might be a minor eye infection like Blephartis, or might be something to manage with eye drops that'll keep your eyes moist longer.

[T42]

Thanks all.
T42, does this helmet visor fit over glasses?

Sorry, didn't revisit thread since.  Mine does, sort of; i.e. it does ride on the hinges unless I get it just so. It's not a big problem, though, and vastly preferable to eye irritation.

[fruitcake]

Thank everyone for the suggestions.

I chose the Oakley goggles with clear lens. Arrived earlier this week. Very comfortable when trying them on at home, and the vision through them seems unaffected, i.e. the lens on the goggles is good, which is not always the case with eye protection. A bike ride next week will reveal whether fogging is an issue.

[dacfvid]

Thank everyone for the suggestions.

I chose the Oakley goggles with clear lens. Arrived earlier this week. Very comfortable when trying them on at home, and the vision through them seems unaffected, i.e. the lens on the goggles is good, which is not always the case with eye protection. A bike ride next week will reveal whether fogging is an issue.

Glad to hear you found a comfortable solution with the Oakley goggles, @fruitcake! Looking forward to hearing about your experience on the bike ride. Hope they work well for you and help alleviate the dry eyes issue while cycling.