plugs and xiidra

[ueskridge]

I recently got temporary plugs, they help with a lot of my "weird" dry eye symptoms.
Can you use Xiidra at the same time or would that "wash out" the plugs? Or any kind of drops?
Thank you.

[farmgirl]

No the plugs will not wash out but they will eventually dissolve in a few weeks. If they help go for permanent plugs but make sure you use umbrella type not the intercanalicular type which can get lost in the tear duct.

[hannsho]

Hi Usekridge

I agree with Farmgirl, though I have not used Xiidra myself. Obliviously, I can't speak from experience. However, I have been interested in Xiidra for some time now and read quite a bit about it. Xiidra basically helps to prevents inflammation, which is an important element of the dry eye cycle. Less inflammation should make your eyes feel more comfortable. Xiidra would not by itself lead to an increase in tear production and such should not affect your use of plugs. However, controlling inflammation is very important, as it does more than just make your eyes feel more comfortable. Inflammation is an important element in the dry-eye-cycle and disrupting this vicious cycle is an important precondition for healing. Asking myself if I would personally risk using Xiidra if eye had 4 eye-plugs installed, my answer would definitely be yes! However, I'm not a doctor and there might be other reasons that could make it not advisable for you to use Xiidra. The link below shows that the mechanism of the active agent of Xiidra consists primarily in stopping inflammation. Hope this is useful.