Dry eye redefined
I get it, and I want to share with you why I am so excited that dry eye has been redefined. You might be perplexed over my excitement in a new “definition,” yes it might seem irrelevant to have a word or two changed in a definition, but this rather nonsense, trivial thing is exciting because it is critical and I get it!
To you, the skeptical OD out there, I challenge you to come huff and puff, but you will not blow down my excitement. Yes, I know I am talking about that stupid, pesky problem that keeps patients away from contacts, creates discomfort while reading Facebook on your phone, incites irritation and ruins surgical outcomes, even for cataracts.
You might think ”dry eye” is rather trivial because you send your patient on to OTC heaven at the nearest pharmacy and have never seen their amazed and dazzled look of confusion at the plethora of OTC solutions that are palliative but no therapeutic value.
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So what IS the new definition?
“Dry eye is a multifactorial disease of the ocular surface characterized by a loss of homeostasis of the tear film, and accompanied by ocular symptoms, in which tear film instability and hyperosmolarity, ocular surface inflammation and damage, and neurosensory abnormalities play etiological roles.”
http://www.tearfilm.org/dettnews-tfos_dews_ii_report_announced/101_16/eng/
http://www.tearfilm.org/dettreports-tfos_dews_ii_report/32_30/eng/