July 11, 2024 — Prevent Blindness is offering a variety of free resources, including fact sheets and shareable social media graphics in English and Spanish, to mark July’s Dry Eye Awareness Month and assist eyecare professionals with discussing the condition with their patients. According to the National Eye Institute, dry eye disease affects nearly 16 million Americans.

Prevent Blindness offers two episodes in its Focus on Eye Health Expert Series: “Dry Eye and Meibomian Gland Dysfunction” with April Jasper, O.D., FAAO, (chief optometric editor for EB sister publication Optometric Management) and “Dry Eye” with Stephanie Jones Marioneaux, M.D.

Because eye drops are a common treatment for the condition, the nonprofit has created materials on the proper way to take eye drops, including a printable one-sheet; a video, “How to Use Eye Drops,” featuring Yara Catoira-Boyle, M.D., of Visionary Eye Specialists; and a dedicated webpage.

“Dry eye can be caused by a variety of factors and if left untreated may cause damage to the cornea,” says Jeff Todd, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness.

For more information on dry eye, visit the Prevent Blindness resource page at preventblindness.org/understanding-dry-eye.