Remove Contact Lenses

You've finally mastered putting in your contact lenses, but taking them out might be just as difficult, if not more so. Once you've removed them, also important to clean and store contacts properly to prevent infection. Knowing the correct process will allow you to remove your contact lenses quickly and safely.

Steps

Removing Your Contact Lenses

  1. Wash your hands. Harmful pathogens can enter the eye via the lenses and cause eye infection or conjunctivitis.[1][2] Use antibacterial soap and warm water to wash your hands. Dry your hands thoroughly with a clean towel.
    • Keeping good hand hygiene regimen not only protects your contacts from harmful pathogens, but also your eyes in general.
  2. Add drops of saline to each eye. This will hydrate and lubricate eyes as well as your contacts, making them easier to remove.[3] Ensure that you use a sterile saline solution.
  3. Use a mirror. Plenty of good lighting and a mirror will help initially until you get used to the process of removing your contact lenses.
  4. Start with the same eye each time. Your contacts are not the same or interchangeable, so you don’t want to mix up the two lenses. By starting with the same eye each time, you’ll have less opportunity to mix them up by accident.[4]
  5. Hold your eyelids open. Look up, and with your non-dominant hand, use your index finger to lift your top eyelid and eyelashes up and away from your eye. Then with your dominant hand, use your middle finger to pull your lower eyelid down and away from your eye.[3][4] Make sure you keep your eyelashes out of your eyes.
  6. Use your index finger and thumb to grip the lens. Without letting go of your eyelids, use the thumb and index finger of your dominant hand to grip the lens. Use the pads of your fingers to squeeze the lens gently (without folding or creasing the lens).[3][4]
  7. Remove the lens. The gentle squeeze should remove the lens from the surface of your eye. From there, pull the lens down and away to remove it completely from your eye.[3][4] Be careful with the pressure, so you don’t accidentally fold or tear the lens.
  8. Place the lens in your other palm. Rather than trying to flip the lens over, you’ll have an easier time simply placing it on the palm of your opposite hand.[4] This will also make it easier to clean the lens since you’ll want to use your dominant hand to do so.

Cleaning and Storing Your Contacts

  1. Clean your lens case before using it. You should clean your storage case for your contact lenses each day before placing them back in the case. Use a sterile solution or hot water to clean the case and allow it to air dry before replacing your contacts.[5]
    • Let the case air dry upside down with the lids off.[2]
    • You may find it easier to clean the case when after you put your contact lenses in your eyes since this will provide plenty of time for it to dry.
    • Replace your case for your contact lenses every three months.[6]
  2. Put new, clean solution in the case. Before you even remove your contact lenses, you may find it helpful to fill the case halfway with new, clean solution. This will make it easier to transfer the lenses directly into the solution rather than trying to fill the case with a lens still in the palm of your hand.
    • Never reuse old solution.[6]
    • Make sure you use sterile solution and not saline solution. While saline will keep lenses hydrated, you can’t properly disinfect them without the right solution. Always use your eye-care professional’s suggested solution for your type of contact lenses.[6]
  3. Clean the lens. With the lens in the palm of your clean hand, wet the lens using the correct solution for your type of contact lenses (as suggested by your eye-care professional). Then softly use the pad of your finger to rub the solution thoroughly along the lens. This helps remove any buildup or microbes on the lens more than simply soaking it in the solution alone.[2]
    • To avoid damaging or scratching the lens with your fingernail, start at the middle and rub to the outer edge, using gentle pressure.[3]
    • Remember to get both sides.
    • You should thoroughly clean your contact lenses daily to reduce the risk of eye infections or other contact-related complications.[2]
  4. Place the contact in the case. Rubbing the lens can help breakdown any buildup, but you should use a little more disinfecting solution afterward to help wash it away. Then you can gently place the clean lens into the fresh, clean solution that you already have waiting in the case. Make sure you place it on the side for the corresponding eye.
    • You may need to place more solution in the case after you place the contact lens inside. Make sure the case has enough solution to completely cover the lens.
  5. Repeat the process for your other eye. To avoid potentially mixing up your contact lenses, you may find it easier to do the process from beginning to end with one eye at a time. In this case, repeat the process for the opposite eye.
  6. Leave your contacts in the solution as directed. To ensure that your contact lenses are completely disinfected, they must sit in the solution for the amount of time indicated on the product. For most solutions, this will be at least four to six hours, so overnight is sufficient.[6]
    • This also gives your eyes time to rest and helps to avoid eye strain.



Tips

  • To avoid "shocking" your eyes with your finger, put a tiny bit of solution on your fingers after you wash them.
  • When taking a contact out, you may look in the mirror. Just don't focus on your fingers. Look up or straight ahead.
  • Remove your contact lenses before removing any eye makeup. The rubbing motion used to remove makeup may rip or tear the contact.
  • Long nails can scratch or tear a contact. If you have them use one finger to lift your lower eyelid and a finger on the same hand to remove the contact. Angle your nails away from your eye.
  • You can use a special tool to help you remove contacts if you are having trouble. The tools are different for hard and soft contacts (for hard contacts it looks like a suction-cup, for soft lenses the tool looks more like tweezers).
  • Remove contacts before swimming or getting into a hot tub.
  • Consider cleaning your contacts with a protein-removing solution every week or so. Normal solutions will not remove proteins that build up on your contacts on a day-to-day basis.
  • Follow any other specific instructions given by your eye-care professional based on whether you wear soft of rigid gas permeable (RGP) contact lenses.[7]

Warnings

  • Read any directions that come with contact solutions, eye drops, or protein cleaners. Their uses vary and can be harmful if used incorrectly.
  • If you use hard lenses, be very careful they don't slide to the bottom of the eye. This is equally important with soft contacts, but it is less painful than hard ones.
  • Always remove your contacts prior to sleeping unless you are prescribed extended-wear contacts by your doctor. Sleeping with your contacts in can lead to a variety of complications.
  • Always replace your contacts as directed by your eye-care professional.
  • If your contact ever feels lodged somewhere in your eye, use a sterile saline solution to flush your eye. If you still cannot remove the lens, seek medical assistance.[6]
  • Do not reuse solution.[2]
  • Never use plain water or your saliva to clean your contacts.[2]
  • If you have disposables, make sure to throw them out when you are done.

Things You'll Need

  • Contacts
  • Contact solution
  • Contact case
  • Glasses (optional) in case you lose your contacts
  • Clean hands

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.cdc.gov/contactlenses/protect-your-eyes.html
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 http://www.cdc.gov/contactlenses/show-me-the-science.html#habits
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1413506-overview#a7
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 http://coopervision.com/about-contacts/how-remove-contact-lenses
  5. ↑ http://www.webmd.com/eye-health/caring-contact-lens
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 http://www.aoa.org/patients-and-public/caring-for-your-vision/contact-lenses/what-you-need-to-know-about-contact-lens-hygiene-and-compliance?sso=y
  7. ↑ http://doctorsofoptometry.ca/soft-vs-rgp-lenses/
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