Still confused about rose bengal?

We have surveyed the ophthalmic literature of the last five years in an attempt to evaluate the use and usefulness of Rose Bengal staining as an aid to differential diagnosis in dry eyes. Included both as a criterion and as an adjunct measure of disease progression, Rose Bengal scores of patients with different dry eye conditions overlap, sometimes to a considerable extent. A mechanistic link between staining with this dye and disease etiology is unlikely; however, Rose Bengal could be a surrogate marker of changes in ocular surface physiology.