Dry Eye Day: management, education, and innovation

Discussion of dry eye disease abounded on Dry Eye Day, a day of themed education on 14 July hosted by OT, in partnership with the AOP.

The online event saw webinars exploring contemporary management options for dry eye in clinical practice. The event saw more than 1400 delegates across the sessions combined.

Dr Byki Huntjens, education lead at the AOP, commented: “We were delighted with the enthusiastic participation and engagement from our audience during our recent dry-eye-themed educational event.”

“The webinars covered a diverse range of topics, from in-office procedures for diagnosing and managing dry eye, to education on the use of cosmetics, and innovative applications of amniotic membranes,” she continued.

The first session, Amniotic membranes and the ocular surface, saw Dr Sònia Travé-Huarte, postdoctoral researcher and optometrist at Aston University, discuss the use of amniotic membrane transplantation as a procedure to manage dry eye disease.

Sponsored by NuVision, the session explored the potential indications for the application of the treatment in a clinical optometric setting.

Connan Tam, orthoptist, independent prescribing optometrist, and director of Burnett Hodd & Tam Optometry, delivered a session on Advancing dry eye management through in-office procedures.

The session covered in-house treatments, with Tam sharing experiences and techniques for delivering treatments effectively, along with an exploration of intense pulsed light therapy.

Concluding the day Dr Alison Ng, an independent optometric educational and clinical research consultant and adjunct associate professor at the University of Waterloo, explored Opto-cosmetics for your dry eye patients.

Ng described the effect of eye cosmetics on the ocular surface and potential complications, with specific consideration for patients with dry eye disease.

Recordings of the webinars have been uploaded to OT’s Education library.

Reflecting on the content, Huntjens recommended: “Eye care practitioners managing dry eye patients in practice are encouraged to particularly view the videos showcasing procedures such as lid debridement, meibomian gland expression, and intense pulsed light therapy.”

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the second webinar of the day, Nature’s pharmacy for dry eye disease, was not able to run as planned.

Presenter, Dr Katrina Schmid, associate professor in optometry and vision science at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia, will provide a recorded lecture on the topic at a future date.

“We are committed to ensuring that our attendees receive comprehensive insights into natural products for managing dry eye,” Huntjens said, adding: “We appreciate the understanding and support of our audience during this unforeseen circumstance.”