I just got punctal plugs inserted last week for a dry eye problem that came up practically overnight. I was debating whether or not it's allergies, and I went to an allergist and he said that i do infact have seasonal allergies (the pollen count here is very high). I have other very very slight allergy symptoms but my eyes continue to drive me nuts for a month now. My eyes sometimes will itch, but rarely, and there is little/no redness.

The plugs seemed to help with the dryness, but the other problem is odd, and i'm not sure if it's allergy related. It seems the the outside of my eyelid (not necessarily the end were the lashes are, but the part that covers your eye) is sore. I also am sensitive to it, and I can feel the skin pull against the part of my head that your lid touches when I blink. Also, sometimes my eye lids seems glossy and oily. I also occasionally find white dandruff like stuff on my eye lashes, and i've had mucus (white) discharge that's more then normal. My eyes are also pretty puffy in the morning. Could this be allergy related? My opthamologist says I don't have blepharitis (although i have a lot of the symptoms, especially since the plugs only had a small effect on my eyes). The problem is prior to about a month and a half ago, i never had allergies or dry eyes. So any help/suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

Well, I would have guessed blepharitis as soon as you mentioned the white dandruff-like flakes on your eyelashes. That's supposedly the giveaway for blepharitis. It can be allergic.

And he also inserted punctal plugs for something that came up overnight? If it was an allergy, I don't understand. An allergy drop would be what you would have needed, I would think.

Does he have you on any allergy drops or anything?

I had tried two types of allergy eye drops. Alrex (for a few days) and alocril (for two weeks). The alrex really didn't do anything. The alocril seemed to help but only slightly at first, then seemed to not really have any effect. So the plugs were done after all that since regular drops (like systane, alocril) just seemed to make my eyes burn more. The plugs help somewhat..i put drops in less. But there is still a feeling in my lids. Also the dandruff like flakes are there sometimes. Like i'll find one or two here and there. I don't know if it's something that just normally gets caught up in them. They are also at the end of the lashes when i see them, doesn't seem like anything is at the base. So could I have some kind of ocular allergy that the eye drops aren't helping with (like alrex/alocril) or have some kind of aggravation to those drops? SO I guess most signs (it's acutness, etc. point to it being an allergy, but shouldn't the medication have helped?)


Thanks for your help.