It is hard to believe that we started our tradition of publishing the annual Dry Eye Issue 11 years ago! It is remarkable to look back at that issue to provide perspective on where we are today.

In the July 2009 issue of Contact Lens Spectrum, our three feature articles covered trends in dry eye diagnosis and management, inflammation in dry eye disease, and factors influencing contact lens-related dry eye. Flash forward to today, and these are still highly relevant topics. However, while some things have stayed the same, some things have definitely changed, including the fact that we are presently in a World Health Organization (WHO)-recognized COVID-19 pandemic.

In this year’s issue, we report on the biennial survey of our readership that asked about trends in the diagnosis and management of dry eye diseases. Some interesting highlights include a remarkably frequent occurrence of “mixed” dry eye disease (both evaporative and aqueous deficient), the importance of symptom assessment in the diagnosis of dry eye, and the relatively infrequent use of pharmaceuticals to treat dry eye disease. These common trends seem to be standing the test of time and might indicate opportunities for alternative treatments.

Another highlight of this issue is our Industry Focus column in which we interviewed Steven Taylor, president and CEO of the Sjögren’s Foundation. Sjögren’s is obviously associated with significant ocular surface disease, commonly of the most severe type. During our conversation, I learned about the Sjögren’s Foundation’s role in establishing July as Dry Eye Awareness Month years ago. We thank Mr. Taylor for sharing this and other activities of the Sjögren’s Foundation with us.

Dry eye disease continues to be of substantial burden to our patients, and we continue to look to new ways to diagnose and treat this frequent disease. We look forward to partnering with you on your quest to address this issue in your clinics and with your patients.

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The goal of Contact Lens Spectrum is to provide you with timely and thought-provoking articles that will help you become a more successful contact lens practitioner. Please let us know how we’re doing! E-mail CLSpectrum@pentavisionmedia.com with your comments or article submissions.