When you're new to contacts, it can be intimidating to put in and remove your lenses. After you're experienced with your contact lenses, one might get lost in your eye or stuck to the surface, and it may take some patience to remove it. Before touching your eyes, always wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water, and dry them well with a clean, lint-free towel. If you can't remove your lens after several tries, go to your optometrist for help, or you risk damaging the lens or your eye.
Preparing to Remove Lenses
Doing some preparation before removing your lenses makes the whole process a little easier. Remove your lenses in a bathroom or someplace where there is a mirror and counter or table. Some contact lenses have a slight tint to make the lens easier to find if you drop it on a white surface, such as a sink. Plug or cover the drain in the sink in case you drop the lens. Prepare your storage case before you remove the lens by opening it and filling it with saline solution.
Removing Soft Lenses
Start with your right eye every time to avoid mixing up your lenses. Pull your lower eyelid down and look up slightly. Looking up exposes a small part of the white of your eye, which is less sensitive to touch than the colored part. It also makes it so you can't focus on the fingers coming at your eye; this will help prevent you from blinking as a reflex. Use your forefinger to slide the lens down into the white of your eye, then pinch it with your thumb and forefinger. Lift out the lens and put it in the saline solution.
Removing Hard Lenses
Removing hard lenses, also called gas-permeable lenses, requires a different method than soft lenses. Cup your left hand under your right eye, and bend forward slightly. With your right forefinger, pull the outside corner of your eye slightly towards your ear. Blink, and the lens should pop out into your cupped hand. Soft lens wearers who don't want to touch their eyes can also try blinking the lens out in this way.
If this blinking method doesn't work, hard lens wearers can also use a tool similar to a plunger or small suction cup. This tool is also useful for people who can't touch their eyes, or who have long fingernails. Wet the suction cup part of the plunger with saline, touch it to the lens, and turn it slightly. The lens will stick to the tool.
Removing Stuck Lenses
Hard and soft lenses can get stuck to your eye if your eyes become very dry or if you accidentally sleep in the lenses. Your eyes will feel gritty and your vision may be blurred. Never try to pull off a stuck lens when your eye is dry. Re-wet your eye and the lens with saline solution or eye drops, and wait a few minutes for you eye to feel lubricated, then remove the lens as usual.
Sometimes a lens slides up under the top eyelid. This is more common with soft lenses. It can be scary and uncomfortable, but remember, there is no possibility the lens can get lost behind your eye because there is a membrane that makes the eye into a small pocket. Check if you can see the lens in the mirror by lifting up your eyelid and rolling your eye down and side to side. If you can see the lens, try gently sliding it back down with your finger. If you can't see the lens, try putting some re-wetting drops or saline into your eye, which may rinse the lens down. You might also be able to get it out by lifting your lid, looking as far down as you can, and then gently pressing your lid against your eye in a few downward motions. Call your doctor if you can't remove the lens or if it's causing pain or discomfort.
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