to Raise Awareness of Dry Eye with the Dry Eye Book Club and Top 10 Tear-Jerker Book List Top Dry Eye Cities of 100 : Tennessee Memphis # 41 Knoxville #48 Jacquelyn Mitchard, Best-Selling Author, The Deep End of the Ocean Best-selling author of The Deep End of the Ocean and dry eye sufferer Jacquelyn Mitchard teamed up with the Red Hot Mamas, a national women’s health group to unveil the Top 10 Tear-Jerker Book List and launch the Dry Eye Book Club, a national health education campaign aimed at raising awareness about dry eye causes, symptoms andtreatment options. Women read nearly twice as much as men according to an Associated Press poll, however in a recent national survey of 371 women ages 45-65 who regularly experience at least one dry eye symptom, many revealed their dry eye symptoms have caused them to experience difficulty with activities such as reading (50 percent) and using a computer (42 percent). “For almost a decade, I lived with blurred vision, irritation and itchy, dry eyes. Although not life threatening, as an author, mother of seven and avid reader, difficulty reading and using the computer to write just wasn’t an option inmy life,” says Mitchard. “It took me too long to talk to my eye doctor about my symptoms, to be diagnosed with chronic dry eye, and to find an effective treatment. I wantwomen to know that chronic dry eye is a medical condition that should be taken seriously and discussed with an eye doctor.” Mitchard was the first author to be featured in Oprah’s book club and her book, The Deep End of the Ocean, was selected by USA Today as the second most influential book in the past 25 years after the Harry Potter series. Mitchard and the Red Hot Mamas encourage women to visit DryEyeBookClub.com http://dryeyebookclub.com/ to join the Dry Eye Book Club, learn about dry eye and follow along as Mitchard makes her way through the Top 10 Tear-Jerker Book List. The DryEyeBookClub.com site will also offer a quiz for women to see if they may have dry eye, questions to help start a conversation with their eye doctor and information about dry-eye symptoms, causes, diagnosis, treatment optionsand long-term effects. One hundred visitors who register on the web site will have a chance to win a signed copy of Jacquelyn Mitchard’s best-selling book, The Deep End of the Ocean Top 10 Tear-Jerker Book List 1. The Diary of Anne Frank, AnneFrank (Annelise Marie Frank) 2. Love Story, Erich Segal 3. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee 4. Little Women, Louisa MayAlcott 5. Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell 6. Angela’sAshes, Frank McCourt 7. The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck 8. Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare 9. The Color Purple, Alice Walker 10. The Deep End of the Ocean, Jacquelyn Mitchard About Dry Eye: Dry eyeaffects approximately 20 million people in the United States, yet it remains an unrecognized health issue as many sufferers are unaware of the common condition and its causes. Symptoms may include dryness, itching, irritation, blurred vision, sensitivity to light, foreign body sensation and excessive tearing. Dry eye can be aggravated by a number of external factors such as hot, dry or windy environments, high altitudes, heating, air-conditioning, prolonged computer use and smoke. Certain medications such as antihistamines, antidepressants, diuretics, oral contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy, as well as thyroidconditions, vitamin A deficiency and diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, rosacea, sarcoidosis and Sjgren’s syndrome may also cause dry eye About RESTASIS (cyclosporine ophthalmic emulsion) 0.05%: RESTASIS, approved bythe U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2002, is currently the only prescription eye drop available believed to treat an underlying cause of chronic dry eye. RESTASIS helps increase tear production in cases where it may be reduced by inflammation due to chronic dry eye. RESTASIS ophthalmic emulsion did not increase tear production in patients using topical steroids or tear duct plugs. RESTASIS ophthalmic emulsion should not be used by patients with active eye infectionsand has not been studied in patients with a history of herpes viral infections of the eye. The most common side effect is a temporary burning sensation. Other side effects include eye redness, discharge, watery eyes, eye pain, foreign body sensation, itching, stinging, and blurred vision. For more information about RESTASIS ophthalmic emulsion, please refer to the full prescribing information or the product Web site at http://www.restasis.com. About The Red Hot Mamas: Red Hot Mamas is the nation’s largest menopause management education program. Its mission is to broaden the base of women’s knowledge about menopause and empower them to become educated healthcare consumers and active participants in the management of their menopause. For more information please visit http://www.RedHotMamas.org . About Allergan, Inc. : Founded in 1950, Allergan, Inc., with headquarters in Irvine , California , is a multi-specialty health care company that discovers, develops and commercializes innovative pharmaceuticals, biologics and medical devices that enablepeople to live life to its greatest potential – to see more clearly, move more freely, express themselves more fully. The company employs approximately 8,000 people worldwide and operates state-of-the-art R&D facilities and world-class manufacturing plants. In addition to its discovery-to-development research organization, Allergan has global marketing and sales capabilities with a presence in more than 100 countries.
