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Home / Sjögren’s Syndrome Information / Diagnosis of Sjögren’s Syndrome / Schirmer’s Test

Schirmer’s Test

The Schirmer’s test is used determine if your tear glands produce enough tears to keep your eyes adequately moist. Calibrated strips of a non-toxic filter paper are used. One free end is placed within your lower eyelid. Both eyes are tested at the same time. Before the test, you may be given numbing eye drops to prevent your eyes from tearing due to irritation from the paper. You will be asked to keep your eyes gently closed for 5 minutes. At the conclusion of the test, the paper strips are removed from each lower eyelid and the amount of wetting of the paper strips is measured.

Wetting of less than 5 mm is indicative of deficient tear production, but is not necessarily diagnostic of Sjögren’s syndrome. The results need to be correlated with other findings on the eye exam in order to determine if you have a dry eye syndrome.

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All information contained within the Johns Hopkins Jerome L. Green Sjogren’s Center website is intended for educational purposes only. Physicians and other health care professionals are encouraged to consult other sources and confirm the information contained within this site. Consumers should never disregard medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something they may have read on this website.

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Dr. Alan Baer in Chair in Front of Brick Wall Discussing Sjögren’s Syndrome

In this five-part video series on Sjögren’s syndrome, Dr. Alan Baer validates those who suffer from this disease, and informs those who don’t, about the common misconceptions and challenges that Sjögren’s syndrome patients face every day.

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