See Dry Eyes

Dry eyes are one of the most common reasons for eye discomfort. Eye drops often provide only very temporary relief. And who has time to be applying eye drops all day long. There is a very quick, convenient, and painless treatment for dry eyes that can eliminate or reduce your need to apply eye drops all day long. Punctal plugs can provide almost immediate relief for symptoms from dry eyes.

Puncta are holes in the eyelid through which tears drain out of the eye into the nose. That is why your nose runs when you cry. Each eye has two puncta, one in the lower eyelid and another in the upper eyelid. A punctual plug is like a "bathtub stopper" that is gently placed in a puncta to reduce or stop the drainage of tears out of the eye. This allows your natural tears to stay in your eye for a longer period of time. Placing a punctal plug is painless and takes less than one minute per eye. A temporary plug is placed first which dissolves on its own in about one week. The temporary plug is made of collagen, the same substance that makes up your skin and bones. If you feel the temporary plug was beneficial, a permanent but removable plug can be placed. The permanent plug is made of silicone. Up to two plugs can be placed for each eye. Usually, patients notice an improvement in their dry eye symptoms in less than 24 hours.