Anyone who has ever experienced ocular surface pain knows how annoying it can be and how it can hold you back from doing things you want to do. It’s hard to see life clearly when experiencing ocular surface pain, which prompts millions of people to visit the eye doctor each year. Those health care professionals may identify the issue and provide treatment, but whether or not they are satisfied with the treatment options available is a whole other issue, and it’s one researchers have recently explored.
Researchers conducted a study and shared their findings in the September 2025 issue of the journal Ophthalmalogy and Therapy [1]. The study included sending a survey to 100 eye care providers, with half of them being ophthalmologists and half being optometrists. The questions inquired about how many of their patients were diagnosed with ocular surface pain, what the contributing factors to the condition were, and what type of treatments were being used for the condition.
The optometrists reported that 33% of their patients have been diagnosed with ocular surface pain, while 29% of ophthalmologist patients have been given the diagnosis. They report that many of the 63% of those who have ocular surface pain also have dry eye disease, making it a contributing factor. The treatments the patients were given addressed the ocular surface pain, largely including over-the-counter artificial tears, gels, and ointments. They were also advised to do hot compresses, and some were given prescription therapies. A smaller number of patients were given device-based therapies or prescription medications.
They found that the health care professionals advised patients to use the treatments, but that they were not satisfied with the options they had to give to people. While the most common therapies given to ocular pain patients included over-the-counter strategies, such as artificial tears and gels, they also had the lowest levels of satisfaction among the health care professionals. They conclude that adequate treatment for ocular surface pain is an area that is unmet for effective treatment.
A prior study in the journal Ophthalmology and Therapy reports that ocular surface pain has intensified in recent years, has immense cost implications, and impacts quality of life [2]. The pain people have with the condition, they report, may include dryness, discomfort, grittiness, stabbing, burning, shooting, or aching pain. They advise that treatment of the underlying condition will frequently lead to a prompt resolution of the pain. Some of the effective treatment options they report on include using acupuncture, periocular nerve blockade, and using Botulinum toxin type A.
This article was originally published on Confronting Chronic Pain by Dr. Steven Richeimer.
References
- Ophthalmology and Therapy. Chronic Ocular Surface Pain: An Optometrist and Ophthalmologist Survey. September 2025. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40911267/
- Ophthalmology and Therapy. Ocular Surface Pain: A Narrative Review. June 2020. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7406607/
