4 Essential Eye Care Tips for Solo Female Travelers

Eye care tips: Solo travel is quickly becoming a popular travel trend among women. According to a survey from TravelAge West, the demand for solo travel has outweighed the supply of packages from travel providers. 61% of travel advisors surveyed state that the solo travel business has been increasing “moderately” to “significantly” over the past few years, despite 78% of advisors not marketing specifically to solo travelers.

Currently, 84% of solo travelers are women between the ages of 40 to 65. Unfortunately, a common concern expressed by solo female travelers includes their safety and security. As solo female travelers, it’s important to be in peak physical condition so you’re not vulnerable to accidents and illnesses when out in a foreign place. Part of being physically fit and healthy for the solo travel experience is maintaining your eye health while out and about. Below, we’ll be sharing some eye care tips for solo female travelers:

Protecting your eyes from the sun

Traveling alone can be relaxing, but there’s no denying that certain things — like sun protection — can be challenging when handled alone. For example, a common concern among solo travelers involves putting sunscreen on their backs, especially when out on a beach. In this case, you may want to consider sunscreen spray, which has become a popular alternative to the lotion form in recent years. Most sunscreen or skincare brands like Aveeno and L’Oreal offer sunscreen in spray form, which you can apply solo easily.

Another important aspect of sun protection, of course, is ensuring your eyes are shielded from the sun’s harmful UV rays. Prolonged sun exposure may cause headaches, temporary vision loss, light sensitivity, or blurred vision, which can definitely dampen the fun on your solo trip. Fortunately, you can easily order women’s sunglasses via online retailers nowadays. Sunglass Hut offers stylish options from brands like Ray-Ban and Prada, from classic Aviators to the TikTok-viral 17WS, that will look great in pictures while offering 100% UVA-UVB protection. You can order them online before your vacation and then wear them whenever you’re outdoors to ensure your eyes are well-protected.

Keeping your eyes lubricated

Aside from sun protection, you should also be wary about your eyes getting too dry or irritated while traveling. These conditions can cause pain that will make it difficult for you to move around, much less care for yourself. Keeping your eyes lubricated is especially important if you’re traveling to places with hot and dry climates, as you are more prone to developing dry eyes in these destinations compared to wet and tropical countries.

Experts recommend packing lubricating eye drops to keep your eyes lubricated while traveling. It’s important to make sure you only pack and use eye drops recommended or prescribed by your eye doctor. Eye drops will also come in handy in airplanes, which tend to be much colder to help combat the dry air in higher altitudes. According to airplane pilots, cabin air is kept much colder to counteract the dryer air from taking a toll on your body and to help make odors smell less strong. Unfortunately, colder air can contribute to dry eyes — which is why the eye drops are a must-pack.

Seeing an eye doctor before traveling – Eye Care Tips

If you have existing eye conditions or diseases, it’s important to see your eye doctor before traveling to foreign destinations. Your eye doctor can advise you with specialized eye care tips while on the go, as well as prescribe any extra eye care products you may need. You may also want to ask your eye doctor for an updated copy of your prescription in case you need it while traveling.

Similarly, if you’re experiencing eye- or vision-related symptoms before your travel dates, it may be best to consult an eye doctor before leaving. For many eye-related conditions, immediate diagnosis and treatment can help prevent them from worsening or developing into other conditions. Likewise, if you think you may have eye troubles while you’re traveling solo, it’s best not to ignore them and try to consult with an eye doctor as soon as possible.

Packing extras of everything

Finally, you shouldn’t overpack to prevent being overwhelmed by baggage weight while traveling solo. However, certain eye care essentials can be extremely handy if you bring extras. This includes your eyeglasses, sunglasses, contact lenses, and even eyewear care products like eye drops and cleaning kits.

This is because, depending on your destination, it can be difficult to buy impromptu eyewear products, especially if you need a prescription. To prevent this hassle, eye health experts recommend packing extra pairs of eyewear products like eyeglasses and sunglasses so you won’t have to compromise vision and eye protection in case you misplace or damage them while traveling. Similarly, if you’re a contact lens wearer, you may want to bring extras as those may be difficult to store and clean while traveling.

If you found this post useful and are looking to apply these tips to your next solo travel, you should check out our previous post on the best solo female travel destinations in the US, from New York City to Santa Fe.