Punctal Plugs
In cases of decreased tear production, punctal plugs can be a very helpful option to keep the tears on the eye longer. Most of the time, the plugs are made of a collagen material (like what is in your joints) and it is put in the lower puncta, which is a hole that drains about 60% of the tears off of the eye. By blocking this drainage, the tears stay on the eye longer, and the eye does not feel as dry. Many of the other facets of the ocular surface disease need to be under control prior to doing plugs, such any of the inflammatory processes.