[An investigation of vital staining of the ocular surface and BUT of the tear film in Chinese].

Vital staining of the ocular surface with fluorescein and rose bengal and the tear film breakup time were studied in 268 healthy Chinese with the following results: Fluorescein did not stain the conjunctiva while it stained the cornea increasingly with age after 31 years. Rose bengal did not usually stain the cornea before the age of 30, the lacrimal caruncle and the semilunar fold before the age of 10, while it stained the bulbar conjunctiva of any age. BUT was 11-50 sec for 68.9% of the 268 subjects and the percentage less than or equal to 10 sec was 22.6%, which increased with age. The author concluded that rose bengal staining and BUT determination reflected the aging changes of the ocular surface and lacrimal secretion; however, for the Chinese, Rb staining of bulbar conjunctiva and BUT less than or equal to 10 sec alone should not be regarded as morbid.