Side Effect: Dry eye

What is Dry eye?

Dry eye is an ocular surface disease characterized by an insufficient amount or quality of the oily component of the tear film, resulting in discomfort, visual disturbance, and ocular surface damage.

What does Dry eye look like?

Common symptoms of dry eye include burning, itching, tearing, redness, blurred vision, and a gritty sensation in the eyes.

Who gets Dry eye?

• Patients with cancer can be at risk of developing dry eye due to the effects of chemotherapy and hormone therapy.
• Supportive care medications such as diphenhydramine (Benadryl®), promethazine (Phenergan®) and scopolamine (Transderm Scop®) can also cause dry eye symptoms.
• Furthermore, patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation are at risk for developing severe dry eye due to graft-versus-host disease.

How to prevent Dry eye

• Measures to prevent dry eye include increasing fluid intake, avoiding eye irritants such as smoke and wind, and the use of artificial tears and other lubricating agents.
• Using a humidifier can also help keep the air moist and reduce evaporation of the tear film.
• In patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, immunosuppression medications are used to prevent symptoms of graft-versus-host disease, including dry eye.

How to treat Dry eye

• Treatment of dry eye typically involves strategies aimed at increasing tear production and reducing inflammation. Artificial tears and lubricating ointments are often the first-line therapy.
• For more severe cases, prescription medications such as cyclosporine (Restasis®) or lifitegrast (Xiidra®) can be effective in reducing inflammation and improving tear production.
• In some cases, punctal plugs, which are tiny silicone or collagen plugs inserted into the tear ducts to block drainage, can help retain moisture on the surface of the eye.