Be sure to have the Schering Plough tear test strips available in your consulting room. They cost less than £20.00 for a box of 50 pairs, from your usual wholesalers, and are considerably better than older versions.

We strongly recommend using the Schering Plough brand STT papers. These have millimetre markings to make reading the result very easy. They also have a blue dye at the 5mm mark which means that your clients can watch as the blue tears move up the strip during the 60 seconds when it is in contact with the eye.

Don't touch the end of the strip going into the eye - bad hygiene and also grease from fingers will stop the strip working properly. A normal reading is 15-20mm wetting in 60 seconds. Anything else is NOT normal.

Do read the package insert. The instructions are very clear and should be followed.

My only additional advice would be to ask your patient not to blink, once they have settled in a reclining chair - if I was treating a human patient of course!