We live in an increasingly drying world.
We live in environments, engage in activities, and constantly interact with things that cause or contribute to dry eye. They are everywhere. In our homes, our diets, our workplaces. The a/c in our car, the medications on our nightstand, the medically necessary and the elective surgeries we undergo. The HVAC. The contact lenses we've been wearing for 30 years. The eyedrops we use most days. Our computers, tablets, and phones.
Every day, maybe all day, and for some, even all night, we are interacting with and embracing things that are drying out our eyes.
Drug manufacturers are perhaps the only ones who have truly woken up to the demographics of the dry eye epidemic, but even they have been stymied for years by an FDA dry eye drug approval process which, frankly, has been broken ever since Restasis got approved on its third try back in 2003.
What does this mean for us?
How do we care well for our eyes in an increasingly drying world?