What is Dry Eye?

Although many millions of people suffer from Dry Eye, it is not always easy to diagnose. Once diagnosed, it is not always easy to treat.
In layman’s terms it is inadequate wetting and/or lubrication of the eye’s surface, possibly caused by many factors that can cause the sufferer discomfort. It can be due to the quantity of tear produced or by the quality of the tear produced. An imbalance in either of these two factors can contribute to dry eye.
Many different abnormalities such as decreased tear production, excessive evaporation, environmental factors such as air conditioning; dry windy conditions, high altitudes to name just a few can be the cause of dry eye. A dry eye sufferer may be affected by just one symptom or a mixture of many.
Official DEWS Definition: Dry Eye is a multifactorial disease of the tears and ocular surface that results in symptoms of discomfort, visual disturbance and tear film instability with potential damage to the ocular surface. It is accompanied by increased osmolarity of the tear film and inflammation of the ocular surface.