Face mask use may worsen dry eye disease by decreasing tear film stability: Study

Spain: In a recent study, Dr. Arriola-Villalobos Pedro and colleagues discovered that wearing a face mask reduces tear film stability in individuals with moderate-to-severe dry eye.

The findings of this research were published in Cornea, the Journal of Cornea and External Disease in October 2021. 

The goal of this study was to determine if the use of masks impairs tear film stability in individuals with dry eye illness by objectively evaluating tear film stability using noninvasive tear film breakup time (NITBUT) with and without a face mask. 

Cross-sectional research was carried out on individuals with moderate to severe dry eye condition. Tear stability was determined using an Oculus Keratograph 5M (Oculus, Wetzlar, Germany) that captures NITBUT, both initial and average NITBUT. Two measurements were taken: one with the mask and one without.

Thirty-one patients were enrolled in the study, with a mean age of 57.6 (give and take 11.7 years) and 30 of them being female (97%). The average initial NITBUT with a face mask was 6.2 3.8 seconds, which climbed to 7.8 seconds without a mask, with a difference of 1.6 seconds. The mean average NITBUT with a face mask was 12.3 seconds and climbed to 13.8 seconds without the mask, a 1.5 second difference. The use of a face mask is still critical in this epidemic, according to the researchers, and patients with moderate-to-severe dry eyes should not be discouraged from wearing face masks.