How to Insert Soft Contact Lenses

How to Insert and Remove Soft Contact lenses

Never wear a contact lens or use a contact lens solution that has not been prescribed by your optometrist.  Contact lenses are categorized by Health Canada as Class 2 medical devices which means there is moderate to high risk to safety for patients in their use.   Using contact lenses that are not fit correctly and not having the fit and the health of your eye regularly examined can result in complications that can result in loss of vision and the inability to wear contact lenses.

Step 1:  Always wash your hands

Step 2: Always Right First

Always start with the right lens.  Put the right lens in first and remove right lens first.  This will get you in a habit so don’t mix up your right and left lenses.

Step 3 Holding your lids

The key to inserting and removing contact lenses is being able to the hold your lids.   The lid muscles are extremely strong, and we have a natural blink reflex that causes you to blink when you bring something towards your eye

All these instructions are going to assume you are right-handed, so if you are left-handed you could reverse them.  Start with your right eye and then take your left arm and reach over, make sure you get your elbow pointed straight up.    Then you use your middle finger of your left hand and you want to pull up on the lashes and lid margin in the middle of your upper lid and pinch that up to your brow.  If you do it correct you and you try to blink your eye should not close.

Next you take the middle finger of your right hand and you press down on your lower lid.   The lower lid is not nearly as strong as the upper lid so you don’t really need to pull down with a lot of pressure.   It is important to use your middle finger because you will be placing the contact lens on the index finger.

Step 4: How to Position the contact lens on your finger.

Take the contact lens out of the case.    Your goal is to handle it as little as possible, particularly on the inside part to so you don’t introduce lint or dust onto the lens.

You want your finger relatively dry, if it is not dry then wipe it dry on your hand, not on a cloth or tissue so you do introduce lint.

You want all the edges of the lens sitting up.  If any are folded down the lens will never come off your finger.

Step 5:  Placing on eye.

Hold your upper and lower lids.  Position the contact lens on the tip of the index finger of your right hand.  Touch the contact onto the cornea and the lens should adhere to the cornea.   After placing the contact lens on your eye, do not let go of the lids.  The lens will not be settled yet.   Holding your lids, move your eye around and then gently blink and the lens should settle.

Step 6. Removing the contact lens

To remove the contact lens, hold your lids in the same manner as when inserting the lens.  Reach in with the fleshy portions of your thumb and index finger of your right hand and pinch the contact lens in half to remove.  The contact lens will fold in half when you pinch it to pull it out.

Step 7.  Visit your optometrist annually to assess the fit of your contact lenses, the health of your eye, your vision and to find out what new options are available for contact lens wearers.