Punctal Plugs Scratching Eye

[elpapi]

I had my uppers plugged a few days ago and the inner corner of my eye is red and irritated below the plugs. I contacted the doctor about it and he said that it might take a week for the plugs to settle in and prescribed me some steroid drops to manage the irritation. These are Eagle Vision tear flow controller plugs and he had never placed them before, he had a little bit of a time using the tool provided along with the punctal plugs, possibly irritating the area a little. I definitely don't have any overflow with these plug but my eyes are burning from the irritation caused by them. Anyone ever have this type of issue?

[romeodakins]

I have a question not related to your question but do you have Blepharitis? Does the plugs relieve Blepharitis?

[Kataklysmkx]

My optometrist made the mistake of putting in the permanent plugs for me. The little caps stuck out only a tiny tiny bit, enough however to scratch the eye.


REMOVE THEM immediately! if they continue scratching or even feeling slightly weird. Over a course of 10 hours they managed to scratch the sides of my sclera so bad I had to skip college that day and do an emergency visit to the doctor which took them out immediately, my slcera now have a raise in them where the caps were scratching, causing a sort of hill in both eyes on a part of the sclera. I felt extremely weak for like next week because it felt I had two wounds in my eyes. I still experience needling pain rarely where the plugs scratched. Your doctor prescribed steroids.... this problem is MECHANICAL, meaning the caps are touching the eye, not chemical.

My tear ducts point slightly inward and come into contact with the eye itself, that was the reason, my new ophthalmologist told me she doesn't use these because of that exact problem of scratching.

DO not I repeat do not wait if your eyes are still being scratched in the corners, even if ever so slightly.. No they will not settle either. The longer you wait the more damage will occur, I had new permanent vein growth and more dryness after this incident then before, due to probably damage/inflammation.

[BigNate]

Hey there elpapi,

That's what happened when I had plugs put in. I was told the same--just give it some time and then they'll get used to the plugs. Long story short, they didn't. I had them taken out. No damage of any kind though.

[HNautumn]

Kataklysmkx, can i ask which plugs are you have now? because I've tried the permanent plugs once and they were scratching against the corner of my eye so i had to take it out the next day.

[farmgirl]

I had uppers that felt like they were scratching my eyeballs. I was also told that it would settle down. I kept them there for 6 months hating them all the time. I finally got them removed and now those are cauterized. I didn't sustain any permanent damage like Kataklysmkx but if they scratch, they will scratch. Like Kataklysmkx says this problem is mechanical not chemical. If you are still in the trial phase I might suggest you try a dissolvable one, there are ones that last 6 months and ones that last 3 weeks. I don't recommend you try to tough it out with the eyeball scratchers though....F/G

[alisonW]

Definitely have them removed. There are other plugs you can get that will not scratch your eyes. My doc tried 5 different kinds in order to find some that would not touch & scratch my eye. (I have Oasis plugs.) In my experience, if your eyes haven't "adjusted" in a day, they aren't going to.

[MartyM1985]

I went in to get my uppers today. The left eye felt fine. The right eye was scratching for sure.

So we gave it a half hour... no improvement. So now I have a 6-monther in right and the cap in the left.

I'm annoyed that they are different, but for now I guess it's all we can do. He mentioned cauterizing the uppers, but I'm only 31 so...

[patrick]

Hi all,

I have permanent silicone plugs of the umbrella type in my lower tearducts for 3 weeks now.
Initially i could feel they were there in case i looked far left or right. Slightly uncomfortable. Nothing major.
By now i can't feel they're there at all.
I have a whole different issue with them although i am not sure the plugs are causing it.
The plugs really made a hughe difference in comfort level in the beginning,but later on my eyes would hurt again and maybe even more than they did before.
After a quick check i saw that my meibomian glands were all except for a few clogged and things looked very red and inflamed.
Haven't had this for months.
previously My optometrist even said ,because i was doing so well,that however this is a chronic disease i was over the lowest point and that from now on i could manage it with very basic treatment.
I'd like to believe that right away of course,but at this point it seems more that i am back at square one. What a disappointment!

Parrick...

[PRK]

If your plugs are too scratchy you likely need to go with a smaller size. The smaller the plug the less you feel them. Also sometimes the doctor can screw up and not get them in all the way.