Nishmat's Women’s Health and HalachaIn memory of Chaya Mirel bat R' Avraham

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Silicone punctal plugs

29 September, 2008
Question:

Are permanent silicone punctal plugs a chatzitzah? I suffer from very dry eyes and had an optomotrist insert silicone punctal plugs in my tear ducts. They can only be removed by an optometrist but sometimes they can fall out on their own. The intent is for them to be permanent but they usually fall out on their own in a few years and have to be put in again. Thank you! I assume they are not a chatzitzah but wanted to double check.


Answer:

In this case, since the plug is meant to stay in the eye long term, since you prefer for it to remain in place, and since you cannot remove it yourself, your plugs are not considered a chatzitzah.

That being said, when you see your physician next, you could discuss with him if there is a type of plug that might stay in better that could be used the next time you need these replaced.

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