For many people, putting in and taking out contacts is a normal part of life. Contacts allow people the ability to see without the hassle of wearing and keeping track of eyeglasses throughout the day. Unfortunately, if it is your first time wearing contacts, it can take some time to get used to taking them out. With a little time, removing your contact lenses will become second nature.
Step 1
Take your time. Taking out your contacts should never be rushed. Rushing their removal can increase your risks of damaging the contact, or even worse, damaging your eyes. Performing the following steps slowly will especially be helpful if this is your first time wearing contacts
Step 2
Wash your hands and dry them thoroughly. Your hands and fingers touch multiple surfaces each and every day, and they can pick up a multitude of bacteria, fungi and viruses. Because taking out contacts requires touching the fluid of your eyes, you can easily spread these nasty infections if not careful. Use hand soap that is free of fragrance or excessive moisturizers as residue from these products can irritate the eyes. When drying your hands, use a lint free towel. This will help keep lint particles from getting in the eyes.
Step 3
Check to make sure the contact is still there. Before reaching in for the contact, it is important to ensure that the contact is still in the eye. A quick and easy way to do this is to close one eye and try reading something far away. If the image becomes blurry when one of the eyes is blocked, you most likely lost the contact in that eye.
Step 4
Position your head correctly. In front of a mirror, point your head slightly toward the floor while looking up at yourself in the mirror. This should expose just enough white of your eye to slide the contact onto. If necessary, use your less dominant hand to hold the eye lid out of the way.
Step 5
Slide the contact to the white of your eye. The contact should be resting on the color part of your eye. Gently place your finger against the contact, and move the contact lens to the white of your eye. It is much easier to grab the contact from this position, and there is also less chance of injury this way.
Step 6
Gently grab the contact with your finger and thumb. Once the contact is on the white of the eye, without moving the finger holding the contact, bring your thumb in and lightly grasp the contact. Slowly pull the contact away from the eyeball. Depending on the type of contact, either go through your optometrist's recommended cleaning procedures for the contact, or throw the contact away if it is disposable. Next, repeat the sequence on the other eye.
