Significant gaps exist in public awareness of dry eye disease (DED), its symptoms and treatments, including among people who have experienced symptoms themselves, a UK survey has found.
According to the No EyeDea survey, 36% of the respondents said they didn’t know what any of the DED symptoms were. Yet many people had experienced these symptoms; more than two in five (43%) had painful, sore or burning sensations in their eyes, while almost half (48%) had felt like they had something in their eye. A further 34% thought that they had watery eyes and one in five had experienced red eyes (21%).
Despite their discomfort, almost a third of respondents (32%) admitted to waiting to see if the symptoms would go away by themselves. The respondents who reported they had experienced DED said that it impacted their ability to wear contact lenses (24%), affected their sleep (18%) and their overall mood (14%).
Exploring awareness around who is most at risk of DED, 92% did not know that women are more likely to experience the condition than men and 84% were unaware the menopause could lead to DED. In addition to the general lack of awareness around DED, the survey also found that many respondents were unsure about which treatments to look for.
The Théa Pharmaceutical survey was conducted by YouGov and included over 2,000 people in the UK.
