Lost punctal plug

I’ve had my tear ducts plugged for probably three years now. I’ve been amazed that none have spontaneously fallen out. Until today. I noticed that one of my eyes was bothering me. Almost felt like there was something in it. And there was. The plug!

I do have an appt on the calendar with my eye doctor, but not until mid December. The sad thing is that it’s obvious that I take the plugs for granted. It’s going to be rough until I can be seen and get a new one in.

Well, the eye doctor was able to fit me in and put in a new plug. My guess was right that it was an upper plug. If it had been the lower plug my eye would have instantly been bone dry.

If you have plugs, how do you like them? If you don’t, have you spoken with your doctor about this?

I’m fascinated by this. Until you mentioned it, I’d never heard about plugs. So they put it back … does that hurt?
Seenie

New plug. So so quick to put it in. Not even uncomfortable. Apparently the top ones can be challenging sometimes depending on your anatomy.

Glad you got it sorted quicker than you thought!

I have them in the bottom lids. They make such a difference. I had one side fall out and it was a quick replace. The other has been in for years already.

How does having you tear ducts plugged help?

Your tear ducts are the drainage for your eyes. Having them plugged keeps the moisture that you make in your eyes. Typically people will have only their lower tear ducts plugged. When I had my lower tear ducts plugged, I had a touch of moisture for a moment, but that was it. It wasn’t enough to keep the moisture in my eyes. I have had my upper tear ducts plugged for a few years now. I do wind up having a bit of an overflow problem, but that’s really only an issue when it’s windy or cold.