Dry eye test
Free online dry eye test
Six quick questions from the OSDI-6, the short form of the symptom questionnaire clinics use, to gauge how much dry eye may be affecting you. You get a score out of 24, where it sits, and plain-English guidance on what to do next. It takes about a minute.
This is a screening aid based on the OSDI-6 questionnaire: not a diagnosis. It measures symptoms only and can't replace an assessment by an optometrist or ophthalmologist, nor detect every cause of eye discomfort. Your answers stay in your browser: nothing is sent anywhere, saved, or shared.
Six questions · about a minute · nothing leaves your browser
What your score means
Your OSDI-6 score runs from 0 to 24. Each of the six questions adds 0 to 4 points. A total of 4 or more is treated as a positive screen for dry eye. The bands below are the standard TFOS DEWS III ranges; whichever your score falls into, the guidance is a starting point for a conversation with a clinician, not a verdict on its own.
What it means: Your answers sit below the dry eye threshold this week. That doesn't rule dry eye out completely, symptoms come and go, but right now they're in the range usually seen in people without dry eye disease.
What to do next: If something still feels off, retake this on a worse day. Regular blinking breaks from screens and staying hydrated are sensible habits. See a clinician if symptoms become persistent.
What it means: Your score is at or above the threshold where dry eye is likely. Your eyes are bothering you more than they should, and if a routine eye test has told you they look fine, that mismatch is common and doesn't mean you're imagining it.
What to do next: A proper dry eye assessment, not just a standard eye test, can pin down the cause: tear quality, oil-gland function, or both. In the meantime, consistent lubricating drops and warm compresses are reasonable first steps.
What it means: Your score is in the severe range. Symptoms at this level are genuinely disruptive, and being told your eyes "look fine" doesn't match how they feel: that's a well-recognised gap, not a contradiction.
What to do next: A thorough dry eye assessment is the sensible next step, and stubborn or severe cases sometimes warrant referral to an ophthalmologist. Early, targeted treatment matters because some gland damage is one-way. You don't have to just live with this.
A score is a signal, not an answer
Whatever your result, only a proper assessment can tell you what is driving your symptoms and what will actually help. Find a clinic that images your oil glands and checks your tear film, rather than a quick look and a bottle of drops.
Can I do a dry eye test at home?
Yes. The OSDI-6 on this page is the at-home dry eye test: the validated short form of the same symptom questionnaire clinics use, scored on the same 0–24 scale with the same cut-off. Answer the six questions honestly and a score of 4 or more is a genuine positive screen.
What no home test can do is examine the eye itself. Tear film stability, tear volume and oil-gland health can only be measured with clinical instruments, so treat the home test as the screen and the clinic as the diagnosis: if your score is positive, or your symptoms persist despite a low score, book a proper dry eye assessment.
How much does a dry eye test cost?
This questionnaire is free. In clinic, the cost depends on what kind of test you book. A standard eye test at an optometrist is often bulk billed, but it typically checks vision and eye health rather than running the dry eye-specific instruments. A dedicated dry eye assessment, the longer appointment that includes gland imaging and tear-film testing, usually costs around $150 in Australia, and a Medicare rebate of around $66.15 may apply if you're eligible.
What is the dry eye test called?
People searching for "the dry eye test" are usually looking for one of three names. The OSDI is the symptom questionnaire (the OSDI-6 above is its validated short form). TBUT, or tear break-up time, measures how many seconds your tear film holds together after a blink. The Schirmer test uses a small paper strip inside the lower lid to measure how much tear fluid you produce. Clinics often add meibography, infrared imaging of the meibomian (oil) glands, because gland dropout is a major driver of dry eye. No single test is definitive on its own, which is why a proper assessment runs several.
Common questions
Can I do a dry eye test at home?
Yes. The OSDI-6 questionnaire on this page is a validated at-home screening test. The same six questions clinics use to screen for dry eye, scored the same way. What you can't do at home is the clinical part: imaging your oil glands, timing your tear film, or measuring tear volume. The questionnaire tells you whether an assessment is worth booking; the assessment tells you what is wrong.
How much does a dry eye test cost?
The questionnaire on this page is free. A full in-clinic dry eye assessment in Australia typically costs around $150, and a Medicare rebate of around $66.15 may apply if you're eligible, which brings the out-of-pocket cost down. A standard optometry eye test is often bulk billed, but it usually doesn't include the dry eye-specific instruments.
What is the dry eye test called?
There's no single test. The symptom questionnaire is the OSDI (this page uses the short-form OSDI-6). In clinic, the common instruments are TBUT (tear break-up time, which times how fast your tear film destabilises), the Schirmer test (a paper strip that measures tear volume), and meibography (infrared imaging of the oil glands). A proper assessment combines several.
What is the OSDI-6?
The OSDI-6 is the six-question short form of the Ocular Surface Disease Index, the symptom questionnaire clinics use. Developed by Pult and Wolffsohn in 2019 and recommended by the TFOS DEWS III report, it screens for dry eye as reliably as the full 12-item OSDI but takes about a minute.
Is this dry eye test accurate?
The OSDI-6 is a well-validated screening questionnaire, but it measures symptoms, not the eye itself. It can't image your oil glands or check your tear film, so it can flag likely dry eye but can't diagnose it or identify the cause. Only an assessment can do that.
What score means I have dry eye?
Each of the six questions scores 0 to 4, for a total out of 24. A total of 4 or more is treated as a positive screen for dry eye. Roughly, 0–3 is the normal range, 4–8 is mild to moderate, and above 8 is severe. The number is a starting point for a conversation with a clinician, not a diagnosis.
This tool is general information, not medical advice, and doesn't create a clinician–patient relationship. The OSDI-6 is a symptom questionnaire; it can't diagnose dry eye or its cause. See a qualified clinician for assessment.