Eye's Seasonal Struggle: How Weather Affects Dry Eye in Japan

In the land of the rising sun, where cherry blossoms bloom and typhoons rage, another cycle plays out: the struggle of dry eyes. The eye, our window to the world, is constantly buffeted by the weather outside. Dry eye, a common ailment, sees spikes in treatment during the grim winter months. Researchers explored the vast National Database of Health Insurance Claims and Specific Health Checkups of Japan to see if the weather played a part. From 2019 to 2021, they tracked factors like temperature, humidity, wind, and pollutants such as particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides.Surprisingly, summer's heat didn't bring the most discomfort. Winter's chill, and surprisingly, humidity and temperature's strange dance, seemed to lead the way. As temperatures dropped, dry eye ops rose, and pollutants like nitrogen oxides danced to the tune of atmospheric pressure. It's a complex waltz that leaves us wondering, how much of our eye health is weather's fault?