Dry, gritty eyes in a hot spell: air-con, screens and my child's eyes
Scratchy, tired eyes after a cold classroom or a long stretch on a screen are common, and easy to brush aside. What dry eye is, what the research says, and when it is something else.
- Dry eye in children means the tear film breaks up too fast or the eyes blink too little, so the surface feels gritty, stingy or tired. It is no longer thought of as only an adult problem.
- A 2025 European expert consensus names screen time and eye allergies as risk factors, and says children's dry eye is often underdiagnosed. The NHS and the American Academy of Ophthalmology add air conditioning, wind, dust, smoke and dry, warm rooms.
- The screen studies disagree. A 2025 study of 479 children found more screen time went with a shorter tear break-up time, while a 2023 study of 45 children found no link between blinking and device use. Both show association only.
- On 18 August 2026 MetMalaysia gave a more than 90 percent chance of a very strong El Nino from October to December, with bigger temperature rises from February to May 2027. No study we found shows that heat alone dries children's eyes.
- Pain, marked redness, discharge, light sensitivity or any change in vision is not something to treat at home. See an eye doctor.
Your child comes out of the cool, air-conditioned classroom, or off the tablet, rubbing both eyes. "They feel gritty," she says. "They sting a bit." There is no discharge, and the whites are not very red. It is a common complaint, and it is easy to brush aside.
This article is about dry eyes in children, the tired, scratchy, burning kind that comes with screens, cold rooms and hot, dry weather. It is not about haze irritation, which has its own page. Here is what dry eye is, what the research says, and when it is not dry eye at all.
Can hot weather, air-con and screens really dry out my child's eyes?
They can contribute, and screens have the strongest research behind them. The eye is kept comfortable by a thin film of tears. When that film breaks up too fast, or the eyes blink less, the surface dries and feels gritty. This is called dry eye, and it is no longer thought of as only an adult problem.
A 2025 European expert consensus on children's dry eye says it has been found in children in significant numbers, and that modern lifestyle and environment, such as screen time and eye allergies, are risk factors. The NHS lists air conditioning and heating, wind, dust and long screen use as risk factors for dry eye in general. The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) adds smoke, a very dry climate, and warm rooms.
A word of honesty about the Malaysian setting. Air-conditioned classrooms and cars are the everyday background here, and it is reasonable to think they dry the air. But we found no study that measured air-con and children's eyes in Malaysia, so treat that as a sensible suspicion, not a measured fact.
What does a dry, gritty eye look like and feel like in a child?
Children rarely say "dry". They say the eyes feel scratchy, sore, stingy, tired or blurry, they rub them, or they simply avoid reading. The NHS and AAO list gritty, itchy, sore, burning and stinging feelings, redness, blurry vision and sensitivity to light.
A confusing one: dry eyes can water. An irritated eye makes extra tears, the AAO notes, so a child with streaming eyes may still have a dry surface. If the watering has been there for weeks, the article on watery eyes and blocked tear ducts covers another cause.
The 2025 consensus also says children's dry eye is often underdiagnosed, because adult tests do not fit children well and the symptoms get put down to something else. Two of the usual look-alikes are the itch of allergy, covered in the itch that never goes away, and crusty, sore lids, covered in blepharitis in children. Eye rubbing has its own causes too, in why kids rub their eyes.
What does the research actually say about screens and dry eyes in children?
It is mixed, and the studies are small. Both of the studies below measure a moment in time, so they show an association and cannot show that screens caused anything.
A 2025 study at a hospital in Islamabad examined 479 children aged 3 to 11, whose average screen time was about 4.5 hours a day. Children with more screen time had a shorter tear break-up time (TBUT), a measure of how many seconds the tear film holds together before it breaks. About 48.6 percent had an abnormal TBUT, and a lower blink rate went with a shorter TBUT. Having a gadget of their own was also linked to dry eye.
A 2023 study in Sydney found something different. It watched 45 children aged 6 to 15 with a wearable eye tracker, and found no relationship between blinking and digital device use. Average symptoms were within the normal range, and the children's tear function actually improved with age, which suggests the surface keeps maturing through childhood.
Put together, that is honest uncertainty, and the two studies did not measure the same things or use the same children. Screens are a reasonable suspect, and a more careful study is needed. Meanwhile, taking screen breaks costs nothing, and the 20-20-20 rule is written for exactly that.
Why might a hot, dry spell make it worse?
Dry, warm air and wind dry the eye surface, and the AAO and NHS both name them as triggers. Malaysia may be about to have more of that kind of weather. MetMalaysia said in July 2026 that it expects a Super El Niño to develop in November and last until January 2027, with significantly lower rainfall and a greater risk of transboundary haze.
On 18 August 2026 it said the chance of a very strong El Niño between October and December was more than 90 percent, with a peak towards the end of 2026 and more pronounced temperature rises from February to May 2027. In July, it also said it was too early to predict a severe haze episode.
None of this means your child will develop dry eye, and a forecast is not a diagnosis. No study we found shows that heat alone dries children's eyes, and none shows lasting harm. It is simply a season in which more children may be in dry air, indoors and out, with the fan or air-con on and the screen close. If smoke is involved, see haze days and little red eyes, and for the parent reading the same week, our sister site has a piece on what haze does to skin.
What can I do at home for dry, tired eyes?
Start with small, free habits: breaks from close screens, a room where the air does not blow straight on your child's face, and a warm, clean flannel held on closed eyelids. The NHS lists daily eyelid cleaning with a warm flannel, regular screen breaks, and a humidifier for dry air among its self-care steps for dry eye in general.
- Break the stare. Every 20 minutes or so, look at something far away, and blink on purpose. It costs nothing.
- Point the vents away. Air-con or a fan aimed at the face dries a surface that is already thin.
- Keep the screen below eye level, if you can. It is one of the NHS suggestions.
- Go outside in the cooler hours. Daylight has its own benefits, but wear a hat in the sun, as in sun protection for children's eyes.
Blinking deserves a mention. In the Islamabad study a lower blink rate went with a shorter tear break-up time, which makes on-purpose blinking during long stretches of reading or gaming a fair habit to teach, even though it has not been tested as a treatment.
Should you use drops? Ask a doctor or pharmacist first. Plain lubricating drops are a common suggestion for dry eye, but which one suits a child, and how often, depends on the child. The 2025 consensus also urges caution with stronger treatments such as steroid drops or oral medicines in younger children, which is a decision for a doctor and not for the medicine cabinet. See eye drops in the house before using anything left over.
When is it not dry eye, and when should I see a doctor?
Dry eye should not be diagnosed from symptoms alone, and some symptoms mean a check is needed. See an eye doctor if there is pain, marked redness, discharge, sensitivity to light, or any change in vision. Symptoms that last after a week or two of these simple steps also deserve an examination.
The AAO advises an eye doctor when symptoms come with significant redness, pain or changes in vision. The NHS advises urgent help for a painful red eye, and emergency care for changes to sight, pain on looking at light, or a red eye with a severe headache and feeling sick. Thick discharge is not on either dry eye page, but it points away from simple dry eye, so it belongs on this list too. A child who dislikes bright light needs a look, as in the child who hates bright light.
The same holds for the adults in the house. The NHS lists age over 50 among the risk factors for dry eye, so grandparents in an air-conditioned room may be having the same symptoms. A family eye check is a natural place to ask about it.
An examination looks at the surface of the eye and the eyelids, and rules out the other causes on the list above. If the symptoms have not settled, book an examination rather than waiting for the weather to change.
- The eye is painful, not just gritty.
- There is marked redness or thick discharge.
- Bright light hurts, or your child keeps the eyes shut in the light.
- Vision seems blurred or changed, and it does not clear with a blink.
- Symptoms are still there after a week or two of the simple steps above.
Common questions
Can children get dry eyes?
What are the symptoms of dry eyes in a child?
Does hot weather cause dry eyes?
Does air-conditioning cause dry eyes in children?
Do screens cause dry eyes in children?
What can I do at home for my child's dry eyes?
Can I put eye drops in my child's eyes for dryness?
When should I take my child to an eye doctor for dry, irritated eyes?
- Ocular Surface · Expert consensus on pediatric dry eye: insights from a European Delphi study (2025) · pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- British Journal of Ophthalmology · Blinking and normal ocular surface in school-aged children and the effects of age and screen time (2023) · pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Irish Journal of Medical Sciences · Excessive screen time exposure leads to dry eyes and inflammatory conjunctivitis in children (2025) · pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- NHS · Dry eye syndrome · www.nhs.uk
- American Academy of Ophthalmology · What is dry eye? · www.aao.org
- Malay Mail · Incoming Super El Nino could bring heat and haze from November, says MetMalaysia (7 July 2026) · www.malaymail.com
- Free Malaysia Today · Over 90% chance of Super El Nino, warns MetMalaysia (18 August 2026) · www.freemalaysiatoday.com