Author: Dr Ewa Neumann
Posted: 6 July 2009 12:21
I spend quite a bit of time every day showing new patients how to remove their new contact lenses. So for everyone who is too far away for me to see me in person I thought I’d write up this little "How To Remove your Contact Lenses " post.
So to start with and I cannot stress this enough - Always, always wash your hands before touching your eyes or trying to remove your contact lenses! This will greatly reduce your chances of contracting an eye infection.
Before you begin, use a clean paper napkin or something similar to cover the plug hole if you are standing in front of the sink. It's really easy to drop them down the drain accidentally if you are new to contact lens fitting and removal.
To remove soft contact lenses, look sideways or up and then gently pull down on your lower eyelid. Using your finger tip, gently slide the lens onto the white part of your eye. Once it is on the white of your eye, you can very gently pinch the lens with thumb and index finger and it will quite easily lift off your eye. It's worth considering the condition of your fingernails especially while you are getting the hang of the technique so as to avoid accidentally scratching your eye or damaging your contact lens.
With rigid contact lenses its a little easier. They can be easily removed by bending over and then opening your eye wide. Make sure you are holding out your hand in front of your face to catch the lens and then with a finger from your other hand, pull on the skin of your eye's outer corner. Be sure to pull in the direction of your ear and with your eye wide open, then blink and the rigid contact lens should pop right out and into your open hand.
There are tools for removing contact lenses known as "plungers". However I do not recommend these for lots of reasons - primarily it’s easier to hurt your eye if you do it wrong and also the plunger itself can become a source of infection.
I hope this helps and as always - if in doubt, go see your eye care professional
