Dry eye complaints are a rapidly increasing problem caused by environmental factors such as pollution, air conditioning and prolonged computer usage. Contact lens wearers are much more likely to suffer from dry eye.   A recent survey has shown that 43% of them versus only 15% of non wearers report some dry eye symptoms.

 

Aging in general increases the prevalence dry eye.  The problem is more acute in women than men in part due to the long term use of make-up; over the age of 45 years dry eye in women is four times more common than in men.

 

In most cases the symptoms include dryness, grittiness and stinging without vision loss. The condition is always at the least annoying, but it is progressive and in some cases becomes debilitating; in the most severe cases it leads to significant vision loss.