National Women's Health Resource Center brings attention to an often unreported condition during Dry Eye Awareness Month
Red Bank, NJ - The not-for-profit National Women's Health Resource Center (NWHRC) released today the Dry Eye Hot Jobs, the first-ever listing of the nation's top job categories most likely to contribute to dry eye. Office-based jobs such as administrative, finance, and information technology positions top the Hot Jobs list, followed by the categories construction/manufacturing, health care/medical, education and retail/sales. The complete listing is included below.
Dry eye is a medical condition that affects more than 20 million people in the United States1, yet it remains an often unrecognized on-the-job health issue as many sufferers remain unaware of the condition and its causes. Workplace health and safety is a critical issue for Americans—with labor time lost due to health reasons representing lost economic output totaling $260 billion per year.2
The Dry Eye Hot Jobs listing is based on a number of factors known to contribute to dry eye, including prolonged computer use3 and exposure to dust1 and allergens.4 These factors were coupled with data from a nationwide survey of people who suffer from dry eye symptoms, which can include eye dryness, itching, irritation, blurred vision, sensitivity to light, feeling like something is in your eye, and excessive tearing.
Survey results revealed that 34 percent of respondents experience dry eye symptoms three or more times per day, and 47 percent regularly feel the need to use over-the-counter eye drops to relieve their symptoms. Despite this, 61 percent of dry eye sufferers had not spoken to a doctor about their symptoms.
"If left untreated, dry eye can progress and lead to increased risk of infection and impaired vision," said Marguerite McDonald, MD, FACS, Ophthalmic Consultants of Long Island and clinical professor of ophthalmology at Tulane University Health Sciences Center.
Dr. McDonald adds, "Artificial tears are often used to manage dry eye symptoms. However, anyone using eye drops for dry eye symptoms on a regular basis without relief should see an eye care professional who may recommend adding a prescription therapy, such as RESTASIS®, to treat an underlying cause of dry eye,"
Common factors among those surveyed, all of whom suffer from dry eye symptoms, were computer use and regular exposure to environmental factors known to aggravate dry eye. Respondents were most likely to work in an indoor office setting, with one-fourth spending more than 75 percent of their workday in front of a computer. In addition to computer use, 42 percent of dry eye sufferers surveyed reported on-the-job exposure to particles or dust in the air, 40 percent reported on-the-job wind exposure and 25 percent report prolonged on-the-job driving.
"It is important to raise awareness of dry eye, a common health issue that disproportionately affects women," said Elizabeth Battaglino Cahill, RN, executive vice president of the National Women's Health Resource Center (NWHRC). "We encourage women to become more aware of on-the-job conditions that may contribute to dry eye and to talk to their eye care professional if they are experiencing dry eye symptoms."
To access the complete Dry Eye Hot Jobs listing, please visit www.healthywomen.org. On this site there is a Dry Eye Quiz that people can take to their doctor to help determine whether they have chronic dry eye. Additionally, the site contains educational information about symptoms, causes, diagnosis, treatment options and long-term effects of dry eye.
Health care and professional organizations involved in helping raise public awareness for dry eye include Cornea Society, Lupus Foundation of America, Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research, Rosacea Research & Development Institute, Sjögren's Syndrome Foundation, and American College of Rheumatology.
About Dry Eye
Chronic dry eye occurs when eyes do not produce the right quantity or quality of tears. It is often caused by hormonal changes due to aging and menopause, and can be aggravated by environmental conditions or contact lens use. Certain medications such as antihistamines, antidepressants, diuretics, oral contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy, as well as thyroid conditions, vitamin A deficiency and diseases such as Parkinson's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, rosacea, sarcoidosis, and Sjögren's syndrome may also cause dry eye.
About The National Women's Health Resource Center (NWHRC)
The National Women's Health Resource Center (NWHRC) is the leading independent health information source for women. The non-profit organization develops and distributes up-to-date and objective women's health information based on the latest advances in medical research and practice. NWHRC believes all women should have access to the most trusted and reliable health information.
The Dry Eye Hot Jobs listings are part of a NWHRC educational initiative, supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Allergan, Inc.
Dry Eye Hot Jobs Listing
The complete Dry Eye Hot Jobs listing, including sample jobs for each category, follows:
- Office jobs such as an executive assistant, customer service representative, accountant, software engineer or IT consultant
- Construction/Manufacturing jobs such as construction workers, contractors, welders or factory workers
- Health care/Medical jobs such as registered nurses, medical assistants or lab technicians
- Educational jobs such as professors, researchers or librarians
- Retail/Sales jobs such as retail workers or salespeople
- Public Service/Social Service jobs such as social workers, firefighters or police officers
- Transportation/Delivery jobs such as delivery drivers or truck drivers
- Agriculture/Landscaping jobs such as farmers, fishermen or landscapers
- Janitorial/Maintenance jobs such as housekeepers or building maintenance workers
- Food service jobs such as cooks and servers
Contacts
Edie Elkinson
Chandler Chicco Agency
310-309-1004
eelkinson@ccapr.com
| Amber McCracken
Director of Communications
National Women's Heath Resource Center
1-888-406-9472
|
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1Market Scope. Report on the Global Dry Eye Market. St. Louis, Mo: Market Scope, July 2004.
2Davis, K., Collins, S., Doty, M., Ho, A., Holmgren, A. The Commonwealth Fund. Issue Brief: Health and Productivity Among U.S. Workers. August 2005.
3Baudouin C. The pathology of dry eye. Surv Ophthalmol. 2001; 45(suppl 2): S211-S220.
4American Academy of Ophthalmology Cornea/External Disease Panel. Dry Eye Syndrome Preferred Practice Pattern. American Academy of Ophthalmology, San Francisco, California, 2003. Available at www.aao.org/ppp.
5Albietz J., Dry Eye: an update on clinical diagnosis, management and promising new treatments. Clinical and Experimental Optometry 84.1 January-February, 2001.
6AgingEyeTimes. Artificial Tears. Available at http://www.agingeyenet/dryeyesinformation.php. Accessed March 7, 2006.
