Knowledge and practice regarding dry eye among general population in aseer region, Southwestern, KSA

الملخص EN

Background : dry eye disease (also known as dry eye syndrome) refers to a group of disorders of the tear film that are due to reduced tear production or tear film instability, associated with ocular discomfort and/or visual symptoms and inflammatory disease of the ocular surface.

the patient population includes individuals of all ages who present with symptoms and signs suggestive of dry eye, such as ocular irritation, redness, mucus discharge, fluctuating vision, and decreased tear meniscus or plugged meibomian glands.

methods : descriptive cross section study to detect knowledge and awareness of ocular allergy among community in aseer region, KSA by self-filling online questionnaire and also sociodemographic data among the general population.

data was obtained from purposely constructed questionnaire.

data was entered in SPSS ver.20 software for analysis chi-square test was used at 5.00% level of significance.

consent for participation was obtained.

results : a total of 494 participants fulfilling the inclusion criteria completed the study questionnaire.

participants' ages ranged from 18 to 65 years with mean age of 29.6±.4 years old.

exact of 306 (61.9%) of the respondents were females.

as for education, 382 (77.3%) were university graduated and 84 (17%) had secondary level of education.

conclusion : to conclude, dry eye syndrome affects the majority of people and is primarily caused by their regular activities.

in order to provide greater prospects for improved medical management.