Dry eye

My interest in dry eye came about partly by accident, partly on purpose. Over the years, I kept seeing patients with the same story – they had been to see multiple GPs, optometrists and ophthalmologists and no one would take what is actually a chronic disease seriously. If you have so-called ‘20/20’ vision, they think their job is done and wonder what you are complaining about.

People with dry eyes, particularly in advanced forms, will have it affect them every second of their lives. They can’t use air conditioning in a car, working on a computer is difficult and when they sleep, their eyes are often so dry that their eyelids stick to their skin of their eye and can tear it off as they dream or when they wake up..

Although it doesn’t cause blindness, it does cause a great deal of distress. I have patients who are suicidal and see psychiatrists because of their depressed state.

I saw the need to take these people seriously. All they had been given for years was just over the counter eye drops.

It’s a part of my practice that is time consuming, emotionally consuming and requires a lot of effort to explain things to patients, but they are so grateful that I can help reduce their dryness and make their lives easier, that I feel it’s worth it. 

What is dry eye?

A/Prof Colin Chan explains dry eye.

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