Key Takeaways

  • Prevent Blindness named July Dry Eye Month and will provide various free resources, including a dedicated webpage, fact sheets and social media graphics available in English and Spanish, and both expert and patient videos.
  • Dry eye occurs when tears do not provide adequate lubrication for the eyes. In some cases, dry eye can decrease vision, and if left untreated, may cause damage to the front of the eye.
  • Prevent Blindness also offers free educational materials on the proper way to take eye drops, a commonly prescribed treatment for dry eye.

Prevent Blindness has declared July to be Dry Eye Month to raise awareness and educate the public and health care allies on dry eye. The condition occurs when tears do not provide adequate lubrication for the eyes. In some cases, dry eye can decrease vision, and if left untreated, may cause damage to the front of the eye. Dry Eye Month is once again supported by Ocusoft.

Prevent Blindness offers free dry eye resources including a dedicated webpage, fact sheets and social media graphics available in English and Spanish, and expert and patient videos. New this year, Prevent Blindness will include a dry eye discussion in the July episode of the Prevent Blindness Focus on Eye Health Podcast, featuring Prevent Blindness ASPECT Patient Engagement Program participants Aidan Moore, co-founder and executive director of the Dry Eye Foundation, and Pam Gaio, an individual with dry eye disease. The Prevent Blindness Focus on Eye Health Expert Series includes:

  • “Dry Eye Disease and Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (MGD): What You Need to Know” with April Jasper, OD, FAAO, of Advanced Eyecare Specialists.
  • “Dry Eye” with Prevent Blindness Board of Directors Member Stephanie Jones Marioneaux, MD, President-Elect of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO).

According to the AAO, health conditions that can cause dry eye include diabetes, thyroid dysfunction, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren syndrome, Parkinson disease, and rosacea. Those who have had previous eye surgery are also at higher risk. Symptoms of dry eye include:

  • Fluctuating blurry vision
  • Burning or stinging
  • Particles in the eye
  • Gritty, sandy feeling
  • Itchiness
  • Redness and inflammation
  • Stringy mucus
  • Extreme sensitivity, especially to cigarette smoke
  • Increased sensitivity to light

Additionally, the AAO states that taking certain medicines can cause dry eye, such as diuretics, beta-blockers, antihistamines, sleeping pills, anxiety medications and antidepressants, and heartburn medications. Patients should always alert their eye doctor to any medications they are taking, including prescription and non-prescription medicines.

The use of eye drops is a common dry eye treatment recommended by eye doctors. Prevent Blindness offers materials on the proper way to take eye drops, including a printable one-sheet, an informative video, “How to Use Eye Drops,” featuring Dr. Yara Catoira-Boyle, Visionary Eye Specialists, and a dedicated webpage at PreventBlindness.org/taking-eye-drop-medications.

“Dry eye is commonly misunderstood. If left untreated, it can cause significant damage to vision,” said Jeff Todd, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness. For more information on dry eye, please visit the Prevent Blindness resource page at PreventBlindness.org/dry-eye. Prevent Blindness also offers a free listing of vision care financial assistance services in English and Spanish at preventblindness.org/vision-care-financial-assistance-information.