Tear osmolarity testing is done to measure the osmolarity: a measurement of the salt content in human tears. The goal of this testing is to diagnose dry eye disease in combination with other methods of clinical assessment.
What’s Your Number?
The osmolarity of your tear film — determined by the TearLab osmolarity system — is a measurement of the salt content in your tears. Osmolarity is the accepted gold standard for objectively diagnosing dry eye disease. Essentially, osmolarity gives doctors a meaningful measure of the health and stability of the protective tear film that covers the surface of the eye. Dr. Kelly will test both of your eyes, and will then take the highest result of the two eyes to determine your “osmolarity number”. Once this number has been generated, we can determine whether you have dry eye disease — and if so, whether you fall into the mild, moderate, or severe category. This will help Dr. Kelly create an appropriate treatment plan to bring your ocular surface and tear film back to good health.
