Q. My eyes always stream with tears in the cold weather. Why is this and what can I do?

Nick Rumney of BBR Optometry, and VP of the European Academy of Optometry and Optics, advises.

Winter is possibly the worst time of year for dry eyes, when they can feel gritty and sore as well as dry.

It’s a common condition that occurs when the eyes either don’t make enough tears or they become too watery to compensate for cold winds, causing dry spots to occur on the front of the eye. This is because the wind can be so drying that our eyes over-produce tears which just run off our eyes.

You might think this can’t be a dry eye, but these tears are often too watery and don’t contain the oils that are essential for the prevention of evaporation.

Preservative-free eye treatments, like OPTASE Eye Spray (£15.99 in Boots), can replace some of the lost moisture and stabilise the layer of tears on the surface of the eye, to minimise the drying effect of the wind.