Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Have You Used These Punctal Plugs?

Image found on MayoClinic.com

Reader Theresa is wondering if any of Reasonably Well's readers have had experience with a particular brand of punctal plugs: EagleVision Superplugs.

If you have used these plugs or have used other brands, share your story here in the comments, or send me your email address and I will forward it to Theresa.

You can read more about punctal plugs and cautery here: Punctal Plugs and Cautery in Sjogren's Syndrome, and here.

6 comments:

Kelly said...

I have not used plugs at all, but I will pass on advice given to me by a dear friend who is also an optometrist specializing in dry eye. He told me that if I decided to try punctal plugs, I should ONLY use the dissolving kind they install to test whether the more permanent ones will help and insist on periodic replacement of same if they work.

He said yes, it is a pain to re-install them periodically but that in his experience the more permanent ones caused trouble and were generally not as well tolerated as the dissolving kind. He mentioned a replacement rotation of about every 3 months, so there must be temporary ones that can last that long.

This was a while back since I don't get to see this friend often as he doesn't live near me and cannot be my optometrist, so there may be some better plugs out there now and this brand you ask about may be one of them. I cannot say.

Also, I have a young cousin who has Sjogren's and she tried the dissolving ones and loved them, but immediately upon installation of the permanent ones she had excruciating agony until they were removed. I have no idea on brands involved, but her experience was exactly what my friend had predicted. My warning to her not to install the permanent plugs but to continue using temporary ones came a few days after she had the permanent ones installed...unfortunate timing as she is now so afraid of plugs she never wants to try them again and the temporary ones really helped her.

I have another friend with dry eye who does not have Sjogren's (or maybe she does but does not know it...) and she swears by her plugs. The permanent ones have given her no trouble.

May I ask reader Theresa to report back if she has these plugs installed and let us know how they work for her?

Excuse me now while I go and put drops in my burning eyes...

stephanie said...

I have a permanent plug (don't know what kind) in my right eye and it has been there for about 3 or 4 years. Never had problems with it and have been able to feel it in there. My left eye had a plug for 2 years (it was good, too), but my hole kept expanding and the plug fell out, so the eye doc cauterized the hole and its now closed permanently. Both the plugs and the cauterization has helped IMMENSELY with dry eye. I only use drops a couple times a day now.

SLCCOM said...

I have permanent plugs. Never had a problem with them. They work well for me.

Unknown said...

I had plugs put in about 3-4 years ago, don't know what brand. The left eye went in ok, and didn't bother me, but didn't really seem to help much either.

The right eye one was trouble from the start - the optometrist had trouble getting it in, then I think it wasn't in quite all the way because I could feel it rubbing my eye, and it hurt.

The bothersome right eye plug fell out after about 2 months, but the left eye stayed in about a year before it fell out. But like I said, I don't think it did anything to help the dry eye. And the right eye one was becoming intolerable, scratching the cornea.

I wouldn't dissuade anyone from trying them, but I won't go that route again.

Eliza J said...

I tried these about 10 years ago ~ they came out and went...actually never did figure out where they went. I have been using Restasis and highly recommend it as it works so well for me. I would be in pain without it.

Unknown said...

Very good info. Thanks for sharing!

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