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Contact Lens Insertion and Removal
Inserting Soft Contact Lenses
Generally contact lenses will be inserted in the morning after awakening. The contacts should be fresh from the packaging, or cleaned and disinfected from the night before. They should not be older than the recommended replacement period.
Contacts should always be inspected before insertion in the eye:
Make sure that they are clean, and that there is no foreign body on the lens.
Make sure that they are not too old, and need to be replaced.
Make sure that there is no damage to the lens.
Make sure that it is not inside out.
If the lens is damaged, or beyond the replacement schedule, replace with a fresh lens.
If the lens is inside out, simple press in the center and invert it correctly.
A lens that is inside out will not fit correctly on the eye. It is often uncomfortable. Sometimes the vision is OK, but it is usually not ideal. If a lens is inserted inside out, remove the lens, invert it correctly, and then reinsert.
When inspecting a lens to see if it is inside out, look at the curvature on the edges. It should sit on your index finger, with the edges coming toward you tangentially. If the edges are curved outwardly, the contact lens is inverted incorrectly. This is not obvious to a new user. You may want to flip your lens inside out, and then back again several times, looking at the edges. With practice, you will be able to tell, quickly if the lens is oriented correctly or not. Some lenses come with markings, such as 1 2 3, if oriented correctly, and 3 2 1 if oriented incorrectly.
Technique for inserting the lens.
Hands must be washed with soap and water.
Contact lens must be clean, disinfected, moist, and oriented correctly on the top of the index finger of your dominant hand.
Use a mirror to watch the contact lens go onto your eye.
With your non-dominant hand pull up the upper lid of the right eye with your middle finger.
With you dominant hand, pull down the lower lid with the middle finger, and gently, but firmly place the contact lens on the cornea.
When pulling the lids, it is best to have the lashes as well as the lid tissue. This will ensure that you do not blink while inserting the contact lens.
Try to not look away, but look at the contact lens go onto the eye.
Once the contact lens has gone onto the cornea, remove the finger, look down, and let the lower lid go. Then let the upper lid go and blink. After a few blinks it should be oriented correctly.
Repeat for the left eye.
The technique for RGP lenses is very similar.
You don't have to worry about the lens being inside out. Make sure that there is plenty of solution inside the lens for comfort upon insertion.
Soft Contact Lens removal
Make sure hands are clean before removing Contact lenses. Also, if the eyes feel dry, it is best to insert a rewetting drop about five minutes before removal.
Use your non-dominant hands middle finger to pull up the upper lid. Use your dominant hands middle finger to pull down your lower lid. With your dominant hands thumb and index finger you will remove the contact lens.
While looking in the mirror, gently pinch the contact lens off the eye, by pinching it near the edge with your thumb and index finger.
Clean the lens appropriately.
Repeat for the left eye.
RGP removal
RGP's may be removed with several techniques. With practice some people can simply pull the outside corner of the eye tight, and blink the lens off into the palm of their hand.
Others may break the suction, by putting their fingers on the top and bottom lid, with the eye wide open. Then gently pushing the lids to the edge of the RGP, on the top and bottom. This will break the RGP's suction to the eye, and it will fall out into the palm of your hand.
For those with larger lenses, or difficulty mastering these techniques, you can use a device called a DMV to suction the lens directly off of the eye.
Repeat for the other eye.
Clean the lens appropriately.