Side Effect: Dry eye

What is Dry eye?

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.