Dry Eye Awareness: Are We There Yet? (4:00pm Pacific)

“Dry eye” is everywhere, affecting tens of millions of people. Publicity has been increasing for years. Pharmaceutical companies are running television ads. Eye doctors’ offices advertise a variety of specialty treatments. Social media has dry eye influencers. An entire industry has emerged offering a wide variety of home remedies and products from nutritional supplements to light therapies, skin care and “dry eye-friendly” cosmetics.

Does this mean dry eye awareness is succeeding? Is the general public aware of dry eye? Are family, friends, acquaintances, employers and co-workers aware of what dry eye can mean–in terms of potential life impact and mental health repercussions? What about those tasked with providing care or developing solutions–doctors, researchers, industry? Do they seem aware of what dry eye really means to the people who have it and are they offering solutions that work for us? If not, what is missing and what can we do about it?

In this session, 5 participants (3 patients, 2 eye care professionals), together with the facilitator, Rebecca Petris, will share their experiences with dry eye awareness, discuss what’s missing, and explore what can be done about it. A key objective is to recharacterize how dry eye is understood.

Panelists: Leslie Burch, Kara Carpenter, Karen DeLoss OD, FAAO, Brooke Harkness OD, MS, FAAO, Randy Penn

This webinar is generously sponsored by Viatris.