Why Do Your Eyes Water When You Yawn?

It doesn’t happen for everyone, but many people experience watery eyes after an especially big yawn. But why? What’s going on in the eye that causes those errant drops to fall?

Dry your eyes and read on to find the cause.

Two things are happening. The first pertains to the lacrimal glands—the glands above the outer part of the eye that produce tears and eye moisture. During a yawn – especially a powerful yawn where you finding yourself shutting your eyes – the lacrimal gland gets squeezed, pushing out a bit of extra moisture in the form of a tear. At the same time, the area of the eye called the lacrimal puncta, where excess tears drain out of eye, gets temporarily closed off.

This causes there to be no way out for the water in your eyes but to drip out as a tear. And there you have it—your eyes water when you yawn because squeezing your eyes shut for a moment pushes out a tear.

Is This Normal?

Yes, you have nothing to worry about if you find this happening. It has nothing to do with emotion; it is purely physiological.

Do You Have Watery Eyes Often?

Outside of yawning, watery eyes can be caused by over-secretion of the tear ducts, either due to irritation on the eyes or inflammation of the eye itself. Or, just like with yawning, if your tear drainage channel (the puncta) is blocked or too narrow, the excess moisture won’t drain as it should. To treat overly watery eyes, try eye drops. This will moisten the eyes so your tear ducts won’t have to work overtime.

Or you can always contact us at Infinite Eye Care for more guidance!

How to Protect Your Eyes In Winter

All Minnesotans know that winter can put the body under stress, but have you ever thought about winter’s effects on your eyes?


Eyes can be easily irritated by the fluctuation between brutally cold winter winds outside and the dry heat indoors. These irritations can be broken down into four conditions that are experienced during the winter season:

1. Runny, Wet Eyes

When your eyes attempt to compensate for the dry winds and heat, often they overcompensate and you get watery eyes that produce excessive tears.

To combat this, wearing sunglasses outdoors can protect your eyes from the wind. In addition, be aware of how you are wiping tears from your eyes. You may be irritating your eyes more if you are wiping them with unclean hands or rubbing your eyes vigorously.

2. Dry Eyes

On the opposite end of the spectrum, if your eyes do not produce enough tears, they are dried out by the winds and dry air.

What can you do to help? Here are a few options:

• Give Dr. Tom a ring to chat about the use of prescription eye drops
• Sunglasses will once again help your eyes fight the dryness
• Buy a humidifier for your home or office to add moisture to the air that typically dries out your eyes
• Take Omega-3 supplements to increase tear production
• Drink plenty of water
• Track your medications as some may restrict your ability to create tears. These include antihistamines, sleeping pills, pain relievers, and others.

3. Swollen Eyes

Red, swollen eyes can be caused by compression of the blood vessels in tissues around the eyes. This condition can cause overproduction of tears, blurry vision, and eyelid spasms.

Sunglasses can once again reduce this issue. The UV light reflected on the snow can increase inflammation of the cornea; sunglasses will reduce the UV light’s effects.

4. Burning Eyes

Not only can the cornea become inflamed by winter winds; it can also freeze. Do not force your eyes to open in the wind or cold as these conditions can have damaging effects to your cornea.

If you are experiencing this condition, please call Dr. Tom. He can help find a solution to your eye pain and burning. A temporary fix in the meantime is once again to put on those sunglasses. They will protect your eyes from some of these wind chill effects.

You may have noticed a trend in this article – sunglasses aren’t just for the summer! If you were planning on waiting to get a new pair prescription sunglasses, you might want to rethink that decision. We have many stylish options available at Infinite Eye Care.

Whatever your eye troubles, give Dr. Tom and our team at Infinite Eye Care a call. We can set you up so you’re not suffering through the winter season.

No More Tears: Easy Tips to Prevent Pink Eye

School is right around the corner, and so are the germs and sicknesses that come with it. Of them all, conjunctivitis - or pink eye - can be the most irritating and hard to diagnose. It’s also one of the most common infectious diseases in school-age children. To make it easier on you this school year, here are a few tips to teach your kids to keep this itchy infection out of your home:

Stay Clean

The first rule of preventing sickness is to teach your children the importance of staying clean – especially their hands and eyes. Teach them to cover their mouth when they sneeze or cough and to avoid touching their eyes afterward. Another thing to help with the prevention of pink eye is changing pillowcases. Pillowcases can carry infectious germs that have easy access to your children’s eyes as they sleep. Keeping a clean and sanitary environment not only helps health overall but also is a big attribute to preventing pink eye.

Be Selfish

It may be hard to hush your inner Minnesota nice, but it’s a necessity when preventing pink eye. Sharing things such as wash clothes, linens, eye makeup, and tissues can cause pink eye and other infections in the eyes. Encourage your children to keep these types of items to themselves and not to accept them from other children.

The number one thing to never share on any occasion is contact lenses or the accessories that go with them. They can carry contagious infections and cause irritating symptoms.

Be a Homebody

This tip is only necessary if you, your child, or someone close to you has pink eye. A crucial thing in preventing it from spreading to others is to stay home during the contagious stage. Pink eye is easily contracted with close contact, which is why it’s so prevalent in teachers and students who are consistently in close contact with others. One should wait until the discharge and redness is gone from the eye before going back to work/school/daily life routine.


Pink eye can be irritating, disgusting, and even unbearable for some. Hopefully, these tips will provide you and your family with the necessary knowledge you need to prevent pink eye – or if you already have contracted it, the knowledge to not spread it. If you think you have pink eye, the most important step to take is to visit the eye doctor and get diagnosed. Catching pink eye soon after you are infected and starting the medicine you will need to get rid of it will drastically lessen your symptoms and shorten your recovery time. Infinite Eye Care offers an urgent care and pink eye service just for that reason.

Visit our website to learn more.