Tips on Taking Out Contact Lenses

If your ability to see clearly is affected by poor eyesight, you may decide to wear eyeglasses or contact lenses to improve your vision. Contact lenses must be inserted and removed carefully since the lenses come into direct contact with your eyes. Removing contact lenses safely and quickly takes practice and patience.

Clean Hands

• Before you touch your eyes or try to remove your contact lenses, it is very important to wash your hands thoroughly. Non-scented, hypoallergenic hand soap is less irritating to the eyes than scented soaps. Scrub your hands with soap and rinse them well with warm water. Soap residue on the fingers can lead to irritation or burning sensations in the eye. You may wish to add a few drops of your contact solution to your clean fingers to lubricate them and ease the removal process.

Removal Technique

• Add one or two drops of contact-friendly eye drops into each eye about 10 minutes before removing the lenses. This will help hydrate the lenses, especially if they have been worn for a prolonged period of time. To remove your lenses, look up and use your index finger to apply gentle pressure to the lens. While looking up, slide the lens down and toward the outer corner of your eye. It may take a few tries to find the correct amount of pressure to apply to remove the lens from the iris. Once the lens slides away, it will fold into the corner of the eye. Use the crease to gently pinch and lift the contact lens away from your eye.

Rinse Lenses

• You must clean and disinfect your contact lenses once you remove them to ensure any bacteria or build-up is killed and removed. Your optometrist can show you the recommended cleaning method for your type of lenses. Generally, you can create a small reservoir of contact solution in the palm of your cupped hand and gently swirl your lenses in the solution. This helps remove bacteria that can cause irritation or infections. Once you have cleaned your lenses, place them in your lens case with enough contact solution to completely submerse the lenses. Keeping your lenses in contact solution overnight can help break down any protein build-up on the lenses.

When to Remove Lenses

• How long you can wear your contact lenses depends on the type of lenses you wear, as well as the sensitivity of your eyes. Daily-wear contact lenses should be removed when you go swimming, take a nap or go to bed for the night. Daily-wear contacts also should not be worn for an extended period of time in one day. Extended-wear contact lenses can be worn up to 30 days, but should be removed if you experience any redness, irritation or pain in the eye.