Original Research Article DOI: 10.18231/2395-1451.2017.0094 Indian Journal of Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology, July-September,2017;3(3): 384-386 384 Prevalence of the dry eyes in the routine Outpatient department of Ophthalmology in a tertiary care centre Manmohan Bhanot 1 , Rajan Bhatia 2,* 1 Associate Professor, Dept. of Ophthalmology, Sri Guru Ramdass Institute of Medical Sciences & Research, Vallah, Amritsar, Punjab, 2 Consultant, Dr. Omprakash Eye Institute, Amritsar, Punjab *Corresponding Author: Email: rajans_bhatia@yahoo.com Abstract Introduction: Dry eye is a multifactorial disease of tears and ocular surface that results in symptoms of discomfort, visual disturbances and tear film instability with potential damage to the ocular surface. Typical symptoms of dry eye syndrome are dryness, burning and a sandy-gritty eye irritation that gets worse as the day goes on. Symptom assessment is a key component of dry eye diagnosis - to the extent that many believe dry eye syndrome to be a symptom-based disease. Materials and Method: This study was carried out at ophthalmology Outpatient department of Sri Guru Ramdass Institute of Medical Sciences Amritsar. All the patients visiting for any ocular disease were screened for the presence of the dry eye over the period of 6 months i.e. June –Nov 2016. The patients were examined by Tear Film Breakup time and Schrimer’s test. The patients found positive were then asked to answer a pre-validated questionnaire. Results: Intially, out of total 12144 patients 4572 patients presented with symptoms of dry eye. After screening with Tear film breakup time (TBUT) and schirmer’s test, 2418 patients (19.91%) were diagnosed to be having actually dry eyes. Prevalence was found to be 12.55%in males and 7.41%in females. The association of various dry eye signs with smoking, anti arthritis treatment and antipsychotic drugs were found. Total 43.05% of the patients were involved in outdoor work. 19.72% were actively computer users, only 3.97% were using with screen while15.75% were using computer without screen. Conclusion: In our study due to more number of working women has highly influenced the result. The incidence of dry eye found highly variable depending upon the geography, living style as well as with the work profile of the patient complaining of dry eyes. Keywords: Dry eye, Tear film breakup time, Schirmer’s test Introduction Dry eye is a multifactorial disease of tears and ocular surface that results in symptoms of discomfort, visual disturbances and tear film instability with potential damage to the ocular surface. (1) It is normally accompanied by increased osmolarity of the tear film and inflammation of the ocular surface. It can be categorized as episodic or chronic. Typical symptoms of dry eye syndrome are dryness, burning and a sandy-gritty eye irritation that gets worse as the day goes on. At the times, it is also described as itchy, scratchy, stingy or tired eyes. Pain, redness, a pulling sensation, and pressure behind the eye can also be the presentation. (1,2) There may be a feeling that something, such as a speck of dirt, is in the eye. The resultant damage to the eye surface increases discomfort Globally, the prevalence of dry eye is found to be 7% - 33.7% Symptom assessment is a key component of dry eye diagnosis - to the extent that many believe dry eye syndrome to be a symptom-based disease. Several questionnaires have been developed to determine a score that would allow for the dry eye diagnosis. (3) Materials and Method This study was carried out at ophthalmology Outpatient department of Sri Guru Ramdass Institute of Medical Sciences Amritsar. All the patients visiting for any ocular disease were screened for the presence of the dry eye over the period of 6 months i.e. June –Nov 2016. The patients were examined by Tear Film Breakup time and Schrimer’s test. (4) For TBUT test, the reading less than 10 seconds was taken as abnormal (patient excluded). The Schirmer’s-2 test (without anaesthetic) was used to measure the baseline secretions. The patients found positive were then asked to answer a pre-validated questionnaire. The Dry Eye Questionnaire was derived from the standard questionnaire by McMonnies & Ho. The validated 15 item of ocular symptoms relating to dry eye were included in the questionnaire: 1. Do you ever feel a gritty or sandy sensation in your eye? 2. Do your eyes ever have a burning sensation? 3. Are your eyes ever red? 4. Do your eyes ever get stuck shut? 5. How often do your eyes have these symptoms? 6. Which type of job you do?