can eye feel drier from puncta plug that rubs a little on cornea but not red?

[jenny2008]

i have an upper puncta plug and lower in my right now (my eyes have switched to which one feels worse-thank you sjgorens ..not)
anyway. my right upper plug when i look a certain direction-i can feel it..this eye is so much drier than myright-however, my left eye was like this for years... i was just curious if anybody got drier from using a plug that maybe touches the cornea a bit??

2 docs i went to said it isnt rubbing the cornea and isnt red.. but i stil feel it.. i am wondering if cautery would make it feel beter. my doc says my eye will not be any wetter with cautery as i have an umbrella type of plug and he said its sitting nicely..

advise anybody.....

[lulu]

Jenny
If you look back at my posts you will see I had the very same problem and had the two lower cauterised in February. They WERE rubbing even though the doc said they were not protruding. If your eyes are very dry any difference in eyelid contour due to presence of even a tiny bit of silicone will be felt when pulling the eyes to the side. My other lower plug made its own way out in 2010 and sealed shut naturally due to infection. I tolerated them well for about 3 years and then my eyes just got so much worse so there we go really. I have tried having all four punctua sealed off via plugs a few years ago but despite overtearing my eyes were still feeling irritated and actually dry, odd I know but sealing all four gave me no relief and made them as red as hell. Cautery for me has not impoved the dryness but I knew it never would and I was told this but at least it is not scatching them. However this summer has been my most miserable for some reason or other. I am beggining to wonder if I have develpoed an allergy as I have never traditionally thought of myself as hayfever girl!
Cautery might stop you at least having the scratching.
Lulu x

[Guest]

When I first had my lower plugs put in, I could feel them if I looked too far in that direction. What I did in the beginning was just make a conscious effort not to look to far in the direction of the plugs - that way, I could avoid feeling them.

Nowadays, I only have that happen if I've really irritated my eyes that day, otherwise, I can look as far towards the plugs as I want and I don't feel them.

As long as they aren't making your eyes appear worse, give them a month or so and see what happens. If they are still driving you a bit crazy, then cautery is worth considering since you shouldn't feel any rubbing with cautery. But the downside with cautery is if it re-opens, it's a hassle to re-do them, and the docs don't always know for sure if they are open or not. At least with the umbrella plugs you know 100% for sure that they are doing their thing.

[willwork4tears]

When I first had my lower plugs put in, I could feel them if I looked too far in that direction. What I did in the beginning was just make a conscious effort not to look to far in the direction of the plugs - that way, I could avoid feeling them.

Yes, I agree completely with SAAG. The silicone umbrella plugs drove me crazy as they really rubbed on my eyes. But even with the "internal" collagen plug, I could feel them when I looked far to one side. But as SAAG said, I learned to avoid straining my eyes in that direction.

I've already shared my personal opinion with you privately (plugs v cautery, etc), but for other folks who may be interested, my doctor is always completely confident that my puncta are closed (post-cautery). He's even tried putting the dilator (the metal stick they jab in your puncta just prior to inserting the plug) into my puncta and says it won't go in at all. My opinion with the umbrella plugs is that they're not 100% because mine seemed to "leak" a little. Personally, I felt good (less dry) with plugs, but I felt noticeably wetter after cautery. Not disagreeing with SAAG's experience...just sharing my own so people know that similar treatments can have a variety of results.

[Guest]

Not disagreeing with SAAG's experience...just sharing my own so people know that similar treatments can have a variety of results.

You make a very good point! So true!

[Bill Sonoma County]

Jenny, I think you are receiving some good advice from the forum. My plugs accumulated some bio-accretions which made them all the more irritating, and just as Lulu said, my ophthalmologist dismissed this and recommended that I go to a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist was nice, but what really solved the problem was a new ophthy who pulled the old plugs, and cauterized the puncta. Bill

[willwork4tears]

The psychiatrist was nice, but what really solved the problem was a new ophthy who pulled the old plugs, and cauterized the puncta. Bill

That made me LOL. Way to keep a positive attitude about a cruddy situation!