I took out my bike last night for the first time in the season and was reminded of a problem I always have when biking - watery eyes. This is a problem I have in general. I’ve been to the eye doctor and he says it’s nothing unusual (no blocked ducts or anything) so it’s not a medical issue.
I am just wondering if anyone has any ideas how to deal with this. I already wear glasses so cycling glasses aren’t going to cut it. Is there any other ideas? Oftimes the Dope thinks of things I never did.
And does anyone else have this problem? I know only certain people have it. My SO can ride for miles and miles and never gets it.
Oh, it’s only in cooler weather - if it’s hot I don’t get watery eyes.
This happens all the time to my partner and it makes her crazy. Our optometrist says that it has something to do with aging and waning estrogen levels. It doesn’t happen to me as much unless it’s really cold, but I’m younger than she is. She wears cycling glasses to combat the problem. You can get prescription cycling glasses or try the kind that you can wear over prescription glasses. Surprisingly, they are not as ugly as you’d think when you hear that.
It has happened to me since I was a youngster. Heck, I don’t even have to be biking for a cold breeze to make my eyes water. Cycling glasses are better designed for cutting out the wind than regular eyeglasses, so you might want to consider them.
There’s also faceshields that attach to your helmet. I had one that I used only in extreme low temps. It had many disadvantages so I never go t a new one.
I won’t be getting any prescription glasses. I mean, they’re great, but I just don’t bike enough. And they will be expensive with my prescription I am sure. In the spring/summer/fall I maybe do 5-10 miles a day, 5 days a week. Sometimes less than that (I don’t always bike daily, but at least 3 times a week).
I’ll look into the ones that go over the glasses. And a cold breeze always gets me, too.
Huh. That explains why it happens to me. My estrogen levels are nil, considering I’m a dude. Wrap around sunglasses or in below freezing temps, ski goggles work for me. The bad part about the wrap around glasses is that since they are so close to my face, they fog up if I stop moving.
You could be a big dork and just wear safety goggles that fit over glasses. Then you will also be safe when you trim weeds, cut wood and mess with chemicals!
I don’t know exactly what he explained to her other than it was related to hormone fluctuations related to aging. When there is a proper balance, your eyes maintain a stable moisture film to keep your eyes moist. DRY eyes is apparently really common if there’s an estrogen deficiency in peri-menopausal women or menopausal women, and the eyes reflexively produce more tears to keep the eyes wet, just as they would tear up in a dusty or smokey room. In cold weather, my partner looks like she’s crying. I have no idea how it works with men’s eyes, all I can say is what our optometrist said after checking her eyes to make sure there were no signs of infection or drainage problem with them.
Aamika one ting my girlfriend was actually considering out of frustration is skiing goggles because they are ventilated and shouldn’t fog up. Edit: they should fit over your Rx glasses too.
For an inexpensive, very light and well-ventilated goggle that fits over glasses and won’t make you look dorky (if you think wearing lab goggles does that), how about a pair of Kroops?
They make ultralight goggles for horse racing and skydiving (I can tell you for a fact that they stay on nicely at 120mph) and they have a line specifically for biking, here you go:
Under $14 a pair. I would recommend buying some antifog lens wipes or a little bottle of antifog lens spray and a glasses cloth (any drugstore or sporting goods place will carry this stuff), treat both the glasses and the goggles.
