Your GP should be able to diagnose dry eye syndrome by looking at your symptoms and your medical history. They may examine you to check for other conditions and complications.
Tell your GP about any symptoms that you have, not just ones that affect your eyes, as you may have another medical condition as well.
Your GP will also want to know about:
- any medicines that you are taking
- your personal circumstances - for example, if you work on a computer all day
These may hep your GP identify a possible cause of your dry eye syndrome.
Referral to an optometrist
Your GP may refer you to an optometrist for a check-up. Optometrists are trained to recognise sight defects and eye conditions. Although your GP may refer you to an optometrist, they are private practitioners and charge for their services.
Your optometrist will use special equipment to examine your eye, and will be able to confirm whether you have dry eye syndrome and any other associated conditions and complications. They can also give you advice about treatment.
There are a number of tests that your optometrist can carry out in order to assess the quality and quantity of your tears. Two of these tests are described below.
The Schirmer test
In this test, small strips of blotting paper are placed under your eyelid. After five minutes, the strips are removed and studied in order to determine how wet the paper is.
The Rose Bengal test
In this test, a non-toxic dye, known as Royal Bengal, is dropped on the surface of your eye. The distinctive red colour of the dye allows the ophthalmologist to see how well your tear film is functioning and how long it takes for your tears to evaporate.
Referral to an ophthalmologist
If the diagnosis is uncertain, or specialist tests and treatment are needed, your GP may refer you to an ophthalmologist. Ophthalmologists are surgeons who specialise in eye conditions. Like optometrists, they use special equipment and techniques to examine the eye.
