viewpoint

What Are Your Patients Doing?

We can make several assumptions about patients who self treat their dry eye

FROM THE EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
Jim Thomas

What are people doing about their dry eyes? If you skipped ahead to “New Standards for Dry Eye Disease” (page 16), you might think this is a trick question because 82% of eyecare practitioners (ECPs) do not screen for dry eye disease and, of those patients diagnosed with dry eye, ECPs treat less than half, according to a recent survey.

If so few patients are being treated, then how can we possibly know what the majority do for dry eye relief? We can assume they either do nothing or they self treat.

Self treating

We can further assume that of those patients who self treat, many choose an over-the-counter products based on their own personal (often unscientific) criteria. Others will research their condition online, where they might choose the measures that they feel will work best for them and ignore others (as in, “Take regular breaks from computer use, who can afford that?”).

The ultimate success of their course of therapy depends on several variables. First, they need to arrive at the right diagnosis. Beginning a Web search by keying in a symptom, such as “itchy,” “sore” or “uncomfortable” eyes, can easily lead to any number of wrong diagnoses — allergy, anxiety or fatigue, for example. Creative patients might arrive at something more exotic.

Next, the patient must find accurate information about treatment, including an appropriate recommendation to visit an eye doctor.

Finally, success depends on the patient’s abilities to interpret and follow the proper course of therapy. And just how often do patients make an accurate self-diagnosis, identify the correct course of treatment and then adhere to it?

Just ask

Fortunately, there is hope. While we know there are many do-it-yourselfers, we also know most patients place great value on the doctor’s recommendation. Those ECPs who ask patients questions, such as “Do your eyes ever get red toward the end of the day?” can learn what patients do and offer them proven solutions for their specific issues. For additional questions, see “OSD: The Low-Hanging Fruit” on page 20.

Acknowledging the power of the doctor’s recommendation, we bring you this issue of OM, which is dedicated to ocular surface disease (OSD), and particularly dry eye management. Our hope is to help you identify new opportunities to provide relief for the millions of patients who suffer from OSD. OM