Objective: to estimate tear film break- up time , a test of tear film stability in normal Iraqi population.
Material and method: 286 normal subjects ( 146 male and 140 female ) age from 12 to 78 years were participated in this study, tear break -up time is estimated using impregnated fluorescein strip wetted with normal saline and the measurement is done in one room with stable temperature and door closed , three readings for each subject and the mean is taken .
Results: The
Objective: to estimate tear film break- up time , a test of tear film stability in normal Iraqi population.
Material and method: 286 normal subjects ( 146 male and 140 female ) age from 12 to 78 years were participated in this study, tear break -up time is estimated using impregnated fluorescein strip wetted with normal saline and the measurement is done in one room with stable temperature and door closed , three readings for each subject and the mean is taken .
Results: The mean TBUT in this study was 15.3 second with SD 4.7 ( range from 6-28s), the study show TBUT to be decreased with age, The study show significant difference in result between male and female.
Conclusion : The tear break -up time (TBUT)values in this study are comparable to those reported for Asian population but much less than those for western population; there is significant difference between gender and the results tend to decrease with age.
