That one day out of the year is here. Shop Small, held on the Saturday following Thanksgiving encourages holiday shoppers to patronize businesses that are small and local. This year, Shop Small is Saturday, November 28. Dry-Run, produced in Rochester, New York, is made by hand, one at a time. The Dry-Run pad helps runners and athletes keep annoying perspiration away from face, neck, and eyes with a simple swipe of one hand.

Why does sweat sting my eyes?

Sweat contains chemicals that are not in your eyes. The worst culprit of any of these chemicals -- in terms of stinging -- is likely urea. The most common components of sweat are water, minerals, lactate and urea. (Lactate, an organic molecule, is a byproduct of the breakdown of glucose for energy.)

Urea is a waste product created by the liver in the process of metabolizing protein. When the liver breaks down protein or amino acids, the result is ammonia, CO2 and water. But ammonia is toxic to cells and so must be safely excreted from the body. The liver converts ammonia to a non-toxic compound, urea, which can then be safely transported in the blood to the kidneys, where it is eliminated in urine and to a lesser degree to the sweat glands where it is eliminated through perspiration.

Sweat is also more acidic than the moisture in your eyes with a pH as low as 4 where the pH of your eyes is typically 7 to 7.4, considered to be a neutral value. The presence of urea and the acidity of sweat are most certainly causes of stinging eyes.

(This information was gleaned from a variety of sources on the Internet. Here are the main ones in case you are interested in reading further on the subject. http://www.thumpertalk.com/topic/688347-why-does-sweat-dripping-off-my-forehead-burn-my-eyes/#8  ELI5:   Why does sweat in the eyes burn even though tears are salty?    http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-urea.htm   http://www.ch.ic.ac.uk/rzepa/mim/environmental/html/urea_text.htm     http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemicalcomposition/f/What-Is-The-Chemical-Composition-Of-Human-Sweat-Or-Perspiration.htm     http://lactate.com/questions/question_01a_what_is_lactate.html   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urea

For some people, perspiration dripping into the eyes can be a serious distraction especially if you are trying to concentrate on your breathing, pace, form or just trying to enjoy the experience of your exercise routine.

Dry-Run pads are an effective and convenient accessory a runner or athlete can use to keep sweat out of the eyes and away from the face and neck. A Dry-Run pad will absorb perspiration long after your handkerchief or shirt sleeve are soaked.

Stocking Stuffer

Here's an idea. Dry-Run stocking stuffer or just a simple inexpensive gift. For runners and athletes. On the treadmill, spinning, interval training. Use Dry-Run to keep your face, neck and eyes dry.