Itchiness With Plugs (2 day dissolve)

[becmich01]

Hello,
I have had a recent frustrating time with dry eye. I am a contact lens wearer (hoping to stay one) with a dry eye problem in only my right eye. My left eye has no issues with anything no matter the lens, wearing time, etc. Not sure if that is the case for a lot of people. Anyway I recently had a plug put in each eye (2 day dissolve). I tried wearing my contacts the day after they were put in, got 10 hours out of them! And no soreness at all after removing them which is my biggest problem. I was so excited I thought this was the answer. At the end of that second day and even a day or 2 later both my eyes ITCH like crazy which I never had. Especially my left eye which never has problems. If you get the longer term plugs does this go away after a few days, or is that what happens when they dissolve, or does this mean I am likely allergic to them? Had the plugs you remove a few years back and they were a disaster and had to be removed the next day. Any help would be great as I need to decide if I should go for an extended plug.
Thanks!

[indrep]

I have never heard of that happening. The difference between the Extended Duration plugs and the ones you had are Synthetic vs Collagen. So if allergic to collagen the Sytnhetic may not recreate problem.

[kitty]

The itching can be due to the trauma of having them put in, and the resultant healing of the puncta. I had itching after all of my plugs were put in, temporary and permanent. It went away after a few days.

[becmich01]

Thanks for the replies.Kitty - does that mean the only real way to find out is to get 3 month dissolve plugs in and hold my breath that they dont itch for 3 months?

[kitty]

Probably. Just make sure that you are not suffering from seasonal allergies. With plugs the pollen and irritants get trapped in the eye longer so you may have more problems with seasonal allergens than usual.

[Natalie06]

becmich01

Did your eye MD check your Meibomian Gland function? If they are clogged up and not functioning properly, they can be susceptible to bacteria. When you plug the punctums, you are trapping inflammatory tears.

My MGD turned into outright blepharitis after having all 4 punctums plugged after Lasik surgery. The itching of my lid margins and the surface of my eyes was intense. Like I wanted to scratch my eyes out.

It may not be the case with you but I wanted to warn you. Tetracyclines or their derivatives control the bacteria, help open up the glands and stop the itching.

You might want to try warm compresses and lid scrubs to see if that helps the itching.

If it continues or gets worse, have your eye MD check those glands.


Natalie

[becmich01]

So went back to the eye doctor and he didn't seem overly concerned about the itchiness. To be honest itchiness beats the soreness I feel without the plug and wearing my contact. We decided to try the silicon plug next week (apparently my insurance covers plugs but only if I wait 2 weeks from the last time they were put in, kind of annoying).
Not sure if this will clear up the itchiness I experienced with the plugs in but I guess if it allows me to wear contacts comfortably I will put up with the itchiness and if its unbearable we can remove them. Also decided since I have no problems with the left eye I might as well just get a plug in my right. why put an extra eye thru any trauma when it always feels good?
Anyone else just use plug in one eye or have an experience with silicon versus collagen plugs if they have tried both?
Thanks