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A punctal plug, also known as tear duct plug or lacrimal plug, is a small medical device that is inserted into the tear duct (puncta) of an eye to block the duct. This prevents the drainage of liquid from the eye. They are used to treat dry eye. Artificial tears are usually still required after punctal plug insertion. [1]
Punctoplasty is a surgical procedure to restore proper drainage of tears [1] when the lacrimal punctum (puncta lacrimalia) becomes blocked in one or both eyes. If a blockage is present in the puncta, doctors may suggest a procedure called punctoplasty, performed to widen the drain opening.
A punctal plug may be inserted into the tear duct by an optometrist or ophthalmologist, decreasing the removal of natural tears from the affected eye. [8] The use of contact lenses may help prevent the abrasion during blinking lifting off the surface layer and uses thin lenses that are gas permeable to minimise reduced oxygenation.
Persons with dry eye conditions can be fitted with punctal plugs that seal the ducts to limit the amount of fluid drainage and retain moisture. During an ear infection, excess mucus may drain through the nasolacrimal duct in the opposite way tears drain. [citation needed] In humans, the tear ducts in males tend to be larger than the ones in ...
Punctal plugs are inserted into the puncta to block tear drainage. [4] It is not clear if punctal plugs are effective at reducing dry eye syndrome symptoms. [ 60 ] Punctal plugs are thought to be "relatively safe", however, their use may result in epiphora (watery eyes), and more rarely, serious infection and swelling of the tear sac where the ...
Causes of epiphora are any that cause either overproduction of tears or decreased drainage of tears, resulting in tearing onto the cheek. [2] This can be due to ocular irritation and inflammation (including trichiasis and entropion) or an obstructed tear outflow tract, which is divided according to its anatomical location (i.e., ectropion, punctal, canalicular or nasolacrimal duct obstruction).
Involutional stenosis is probably the most common cause of nasolacrimal duct obstruction in older people. It affects women twice as frequently as men. Although the inciting event in this process is unknown, clinicopathologic study suggests that compression of the lumen of the nasolacrimal duct is caused by inflammatory infiltrates and edema.
Due to the different underlying causes, proper diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis can only be determined by an eye care professional. Punctate epithelial erosions may be treated with artificial tears.