How the dry eye self-check scores your answers

The self-check adds up your answers to the symptom questions into a single score, places it in one of four bands, and separately looks for a pattern. One question can override all of that, and it comes last.

Two kinds of question, two scales

Questions about how often something happens over a week are answered Never, Some days, Most days or Every day. Questions about what happens around a specific trigger, like screen use or moving air, are answered Never, Occasionally, Frequently or Every time. Days would be the wrong unit for those, so they get their own.

The four bands

• Minimal
• Mild and occasional
• Moderate, most days
• Significant, daily

One question, about when your eyes are at their worst, isn’t scored at all. If you say you do not use drops, the question about how long drops help is left out of the score, not counted as zero.

The pattern

Some answers point toward a tear film that evaporates too quickly. The result says whether your answers fit that pattern or whether the picture is unclear. It describes what your answers said; it is not a diagnosis.

The safety question

The last question asks whether any warning signs apply right now, among them eye pain, changes in vision, and symptoms lasting more than 72 hours. Check any of them and there is no score at all, just one recommendation: see an eye care professional.

What it never says

No result tells you to buy anything, and none names a product. Quell’s Uses section is a separate matter: For use as a protectant against further irritation or to relieve dryness of the eye.