What is it about?
This article discusses how treating dry eyes can create a lot of plastic waste and suggests ways to make eye care more environmentally friendly. It also talks about how to raise awareness of these issues among eye doctors and patients.
Featured Image
Photo by Zbynek Burival on Unsplash
Why is it important?
Making eye care more eco-friendly is important because: The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the use of disposable medical items Climate change and environmental issues are becoming more urgent Current practices in treating dry eyes create a lot of plastic waste This waste can harm the environment and potentially human health
Perspectives
Here's what the article highlights: Dry eye treatments, especially single-use eye drops, create a huge amount of plastic waste Most of this plastic doesn't get recycled and can end up as harmful microplastics in the environment There are ways to reduce this waste: Using multi-dose preservative-free eye drops instead of single-use vials Reducing the use of disposable items in treatments Recycling and upcycling medical plastics Doctors need to be aware of these issues and consider changing their practices Education and global collaboration can help spread awareness and solutions There are challenges, especially in countries with fewer resources Everyone involved in eye care - patients, doctors, hospitals, and manufacturers - needs to work together to make it more environmentally friendly This article is like a wake-up call for the eye care world. It's saying that while we're busy treating dry eyes, we might be accidentally hurting the environment. But it's not all bad news - there are ways to make things better. By making small changes, like using different types of eye drops or being more careful with disposables, eye doctors can help protect the environment. It's about finding a balance between helping patients and being kind to our planet.
Prof Louis Tong
National University of Singapore
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Limiting plastic waste in dry eye practice for environmental sustainability, The Ocular Surface, July 2022, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.1016/j.jtos.2022.05.005.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page