burning eyes

[DebW]

What's a good approach to avoiding eye irritation due to sweat and general uncleanness while hiking? I find that the longer I've been without a shower, the more eye irritation I experience. When the eyes start burning, I want to rub them with something, but my hands and T-shirt and bandana are also dirty and only compound the problem.

[Hikerhead]

suck the water out of your water blader, spit water unto your hands, wipe face and eyes.

I don't know of a faster way other than pulling out your wash rag and soap and all that jazz.

[MedicineMan]

Consider the filter bottles (Bota, SafeWaterAnywhere,Katahdin,etc) and squeeze the water directly into your eye--it is sterile that way....dont think I would put it in my hands first-that would defeat the purpose....a small bottle (4oz.) of 'Eye Wash' (Goldline) is really good stuff to ease many eye irritants-I keep a bottle in my desk at work and am staring at it now...I use it mostly for dry eyes found in are arid hospital!
My 2cents

[Grimace]

never had it happen... Are you putting sunscreen on your forehead and having it sweat off into your eyes?

[DebW]

Originally posted by Grimace
never had it happen... Are you putting sunscreen on your forehead and having it sweat off into your eyes?

No sunscreen. Maybe some day old bug dope mixed with sweat and grime. A good face washing with soap and water once a day would probably prevent the most acute eye burn.

[asmtroop3]

I always heat enough extra water to wash with after I get done cooking. On the trail, try some of those baby wipes. A couple in a baggie can't weigh too much.

[Weeknd]

I have a suggestion. My wife and I have started using those little individual vials of artificial tears. Her eye Dr recommended them for portability and sterility. I will put a couple in my backpacking personals kit. I use one when needed at night shortly prior to going to bed. I also keep one in the desk at work and in my work bag. I have had to use one occasionally during alergy season. I think they are a great solution to this problem. They are light, clean and could be added to a bounce box for a long distance/thru hiker. Check them out at the pharmacy section of the local discount or drug store. BTW: We use the ones with NO PRESERVATIVES because my wife is allergic to the typical preservatives used in eye solutions. You might consult your Dr. about the preservatives.

[Groucho]

Meant to answer this earlier.

I don't know if your problem has been dealt with adequately, so I'll give my solution.

When hiking, sweat may pour off my forehead. This may cause my eyes to redden and the area around my eyes to blotch and itch, if left untreated. I use a cool max kerchief cut in half diagonally and tie it around my forehead. This alone usually does the job. If sweat runs into my eyes, I use a small spritzer to wet my eyes with water (no chlorine, iodine, etc.); then eyes are wiped with other half of bandana. Keep your wiping bandana clean. You can boil it briefly every few days.

The eye problem usually happens to me when the weather suddenly turns hot or I've just got on the trail. The spritzer will refresh on a hot day like a cool breeze even if you have no problems.

This may be overkill. The artificial tears may do the job for you. 1/4 teaspoon of salt in about 3 ounces of water make a satisfactory eye-wetting solution.

[icemanat95]

Water from the water bottle does it for me.

I also keep baby wipes to get clean every day, and I wear a nylon ball cap with a terrycloth sweatband to keep the sweat under control.