guidelines
We need your help to change common perceptions of dry eye.
ALL WE ASK FOR IS:
Your story (in written, audio, or video format)
An original photo that represents or accompanies your story
Who can share their story?
We are seeking stories from patients at any stage of their dry eye journey. Stories can be submitted in writing, as an audio recording, or in video format!
We also welcome stories told from other perspectives, such as loved ones and healthcare professionals, so long as they are personal stories that help to illuminate the reality of dry eye patients’ experiences.
How does it work?
YOUR PART
1. Prepare.
Please write up your story (up to 2000 words) on your computer or device, give it a title and save it. Then find or create an image to submit with your story to help illustrate it. If you need help or ideas, let us know.
Optional: Write and record your story to give our readers’ eyes a break! Follow the simple instructions for recording your story here.
2. Complete and submit the form.
You can submit your story completely anonymously. Using your real name, age, or gender is optional. Your responses to our survey questions will not be attributed to you without additional written consent. You will be asked to provide a valid email address for communication, which we will never share you email with anyone.
3. Email an image to stories@dryeyefoundation.org.
Please upload, if possible, a photo relevant to your story.
Examples: Portrait; or a photo of something you associate with your dry eye journey, or related to an accomplishment or important milestone.
OUR PART
We will create a page for your story and assign tags to help visitors search stories on specific topics. If appropriate, we may edit stories minimally for readability and compliance with terms of use. Then we will add a thumbnail of your image, along with your story title and a brief highlight, to our index. When it’s all ready, we will email you a link.
Please note that your story and/or images may be used to highlight this project on the dryeyestories.com site, our social media, and our other sites.
Terms of Use
No copyrighted images or plagiarized text.
No hyperlinks in text of story.
Please do not include names of doctors, past or present, or other information by which your doctor(s) can be identified. Our experiences with eye doctors are a very important part of our stories, and we want everyone to be able to tell their stories candidly. The simplest and safest way to do that is by keeping names out of it. We do not intend this site as a source of dry eye doctor reviews as it would distract from our core mission of education and advocacy.
The Dry Eye Foundation will not share your name or email address with anyone.
By submitting your story, you (1) grant The Dry Eye Foundation the copyright to the materials you upload through our form and (2) agree that we may email you to invite you to post an updated story or to participate in research that we feel will be beneficial to dry eye patients. You may opt out of further email updates at any time. You will not be added to any other mailing list as a result of sharing your story.