The role of general practitioner in ocular surface disorders treatment

General practitioners play an important role in the therapy of ocular diseases. Their tasks include initial diagnosis, implementation of treatment of small injuries and illnesses, control of patients treated chronically and prevention of ophthalmic diseases. The most common ocular surface diseases are dry eye disease, Meibomian gland dysfunction, blepharitis and conjunctivitis of different etiology. Patients with these problems more and more frequently seek help from their family doctors. Proper interview connected with the examination of visual acuity and basic physical examination usually allows to form diagnosis and make the decision about the treatment or urgent referral to an ophthalmologist. Symptoms without aggravation of visual acuity, appropriate response of the pupils to light and translucent cornea usually indicate that a patient can be treated by family doctor and does not require urgent ophthalmological consultation. In these situations doctors should implement relevant therapeutic procedure which should be preceded by the proper diagnosis. It is equally important to implement appropriate prophylactic and therapeutic procedures, e.g.: eyelid hygiene and use of artificial tears without preservatives. It can improve the effectiveness of the treatment of ocular surface diseases and increase the comfort of a patient. The article discusses the most common ocular surface diseases and the guidelines in ophthalmology treatment for GPs.