Eyeworld

43 EW CORNEA November 2015 Editors' note: Dr. Galor has no finan- cial interests related to this article. Contact information Galor: AGalor@med.miami.edu while, actually runs contrary to how practitioners have been conditioned to think. "As ophthalmologists we think of allergy and dry eye very separately," Dr. Galor said. "Physi- cians talk about allergy and they talk about dry eye, but they don't talk about allergy causing dry eye." Clinical considerations This new research indicates that the situation is more complicated. Dr. Galor thinks this is of particular im- portance in light of the fact that dry eye therapeutics often come down to a matter of trying different things to see what ultimately works. "That's frustrating for the patient and for the doctor," she said. "Wouldn't it be great if we could look at the patient and individualize therapy and try something that has a higher chance of working?" To be able to tell patients that their dry eye symptoms might be related to allergy could have import- ant clinical implications. "It would be nice if we could say, 'We think that your dry eye symptoms are be- ing driven by allergy, and maybe we can do something about that,'" Dr. Galor said, adding that with 1 out of 4 older Americans having dry eye, it would be good if it was possible to use non-pharmacological allergy intervention such as changing an air filter or using a high throughput filter in the home. Dr. Galor was a bit surprised to see the association between allergy and dry eye. "In my training as an ophthalmologist, I had never heard the two concepts put together," she said. "This research suggests that we need to rethink what we think we know about dry eye and aller- gies." For example, there has been a traditional thought in ophthalmol- ogy that itching is more specific to allergy, but it turns out that a lot of patients with dry eye also complain of itching. "It could be that those patients also have a component of allergy, or that itching isn't the best descriptor to differentiate between the two," Dr. Galor said. "I think we need to develop better biomarkers to help us improve our diagnosis and tailor treatment." Overall, Dr. Galor hopes that practitioners come away from the study with the understanding that dry eye is not one-sided, and it is the responsibility of clinicians to try to determine the subtype of dry eye for better diagnosis and treatment. It's not just pollen to be wary of, but also environmental factors, such as pollution. "That's something we can advise patients about, and I don't think that eyecare professionals are generally doing that right now," she concluded. EW ® • Designed for anterior or posterior capsulorrhexis through a sub-1.8mm incision • Jaws open to a maximum spread of 1.75mm OD • Extra delicate, vaulted shanks to reach across the capsule with minimal leakage • Fine triangular tips can be used to create the capsular tag Micro Cataract SOLUTIONS Micro Cataract K2-6622 trapezoid, 1.8 to 2.2mm wide K2-6654 trapezoid, 2.1 to 2.4mm wide K2-6680 1.8mm wide K2-6682 2.2mm wide K5-5092 • Exquisitely sharp, natural diamond blades for perfect incision architecture • Handles and internal mechanisms produced from titanium for consistently smooth action and longer life • Blades can be resharpened should they become damaged or chipped • Available in standard keratome or trapezoidal shapes MICS Diamond Knives Giannetti Forceps for sub - 1.8mm incisions 973-989-1600 • 800-225-1195 www.katena.com

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