Blepharitis and Punctal plugs

[Alex123711]

I have blepharitis and really dry eyes from being on roaccutane 5 months ag. Being outside on a windy day or in air conditioning is unbearable and eyes get extremely bloodshot. Eye drops (have tried many different ones, Optive seems to be the most effective but) don't seem to help much besides when I wake up with extremely dry eyes sometimes.. have been on doxycycline for 6 weeks, do warm compresses twice daily and sterilid at night for about 3 months so far and lidcare every morning for about a year.

Have been seeing ophthalmologists and optometrists/ doctors for ages about it

When I use eye drops they seem to run down into my nose pretty quickly and make my nose runny, so i feel stopping the drainage would help?

Am wondering If punctal plugs are an option to help the extreme dry eye for blepharitis sufferers or would they make it worse? What are the complications and are there any other possible alternatives?

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS]

Its simple to put these in and give them a try. They would be less likely to help a watery eye than a "bone dry" eye. You should be on Restasis and that would be more likely to help than anything.

Also consider fish oil enteric coated high quality manufactuer (example Cardiotabs   ) 3/day or one of the oral over the counter pills specific for dry eyes. TheraTears Dry eye oral formulation.

JCH II MD

[Alex123711]

Thanks, so having blepharitis wouldn't be a problem/ wouldn't rule them out for me? Forgot to mention; been taking fish oil for around 3 months, flax seed oil about 6-8 weeks

[Gina29]

Hi. I have bleph and dry eye as well. I have tried so many meds and now am on restasis and my doc said we could do plugs which now I am going to. A few thoughts and my eyes are really bad but that have helped slightluy. The theralid foam is the best for me to keep the eyes clean. Much better then baby shampoo or the wipes. I use only preservative free drops but when I put them in I close my eyes right away to keep them in as much as possible. If I go too long without the drops forget about it. Good luck cause this is a frustrating and painful thing to have

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS]

Plugs are an excellent addition to Restasis for very dry or moderately dry eyes.

JCH IIMD

[Alex123711]

I'm not sure if Restasis is available here (Australia) or maybe its called something else?

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS]

topical cyclosporin.

JCH II MD

[sue725]

Soaking my eyelids twice a day with hot moist compresses was awkward, marginally effective and very drying to the surrounding skin. But my opthalmologist said I needed to do this or risk losing my vision. So I finally came up with a technique that has worked well for me and a friend who also suffers from dry-eye: The inspiration came from the fact that I brush my teeth with an electric toothbrush twice a day, timed for 2 minutes. So, while I'm brushing at the sink, I keep the tap running a small stream of very hot water and use it to frequently reheat and remoisten fresh cotton balls placed in the eyecups of sun-tanning goggles. I lean over the sink and press the goggles against my eyes with one hand while using the toothbrush with the other hand. Works great. At a recent checkup, my opthalmologist said she no longer saw any evidence of blepharitis. And, the appearance of my eyes and surrounding tissue is greatly improved.