How to Insert or Remove Your Contact Lens

Most contact lens wearers laughingly remember struggling in front of a mirror the first time they tried to insert or remove their lenses. As they soon learned inserting contact lenses follows the old saying - with practice comes perfect.

For everyone from first time contact lens wearer to experienced contact users here are a few helpful tips to show you how to properly insert and remove your contact lenses:

Checking if your soft or disposable contact lens is right side out.

___________ Correct

__________ Incorrect

Inserting Your Lenses

• Make sure that your fingers are clean and dry. (Dry fingers facilitate handling as soft contact lenses tend to stick to wet fingers).
• Remove your lens from the storage case.
• It is a good idea to get in the habit of always working with the same lens first the right or left in order to avoid mix-ups.
• Rinse your lens with the solution recommended by your eye care practitioner to remove all traces of debris.
• Place the lens on the tip of your index finger.
• Using the middle finger of your other hand pull and hold your upper lid so that you cannot blink.
• Pull down your lower eyelid using the middle finger of your inserting hand.
• Look up and place the lens gently on the lower white part of your eye.
• Slowly release your eyelid and close your eye for a moment.
• Blink several times to centre the lens on your eye.
• Sometimes small dust particles trapped behind the lens during its placement can cause discomfort. To remove dust slide the lens off and then back onto the front of your eye.
• Insert the other lens following the same procedure.

Removing Your Lenses

• Wash and dry your hands.
• Make sure that your lens is centered correctly on your eye.
• Looking up pull down your lower eyelid with the middle finger of your inserting hand.
• Bring your index finger close to your eye until you touch the lower edge of the lens.
• Slide the lens down to the lower white part of your eye.
• Gently squeeze the lens between your thumb and index finger and remove it from your eye.
• Follow the lens care procedures recommended by your eye care practitioner.
• Remove the other lens and follow the same procedure.