Contact Lenses

Insertion and Removal of Contact Lenses
It is easy to put contact lenses in and to take them out once you know how. We take as much time as needed to make sure you are confident with this skill before we send you home with the lenses. Different techniques are used with soft and rigid lenses. Always wash your hands first. Look at the lens to make sure it is clean and intact. Remember, the lens will stick to whatever is wettest, so you want your finger to be a bit on the dry side; too dry and the lens might fall off your finger, too wet and the lens may stay on you finger rather than transferring to your eye. If you have long fingernails, instead of putting the lens on your fingertip, try bending your index finger and putting the lens on the side of the knuckle.


Insertion and Removal of RGPs
To put on Rigid Gas Permeable (RGP) lenses, put the clean lens on the tip of your finger. You may want to put a drop of conditioning solution in the lens first. Hold your lids open, and put the lens on directly in your line of sight (so if you closed your other eye, your finger and the lens coming toward your eye would be right in the center of your vision). If you get an RGP on the white of your eye, use two fingertips against your eyelid to make a blockade near where the lens is on the white of the eye. While using your fingers to prevent the lens from moving away, look toward where the lens is. The lens will re-center on the front of the eye when you look far enough in the direction of the de-centered lens while holding the lens steady between your fingertips through your eyelid. This is a little uncomfortable at the instant that the lens re-centers, but then it is fine.

There are several ways to remove an RGP. Most people use one of these two methods. The most common method is the blink method. To do this, hold your hand straight in front of your face about 12 inches from your nose. This will make your eyes turn in toward your nose a little bit. Tip your head so the colored part of the eye is centered between your eyelids. Put a finger on the corner of your eyelid, where the upper lid and the lower lid meet, on the side closest to your ear. Open your eyes very wide (so your eyelids are open wider than the diameter of the RGP). Gently but firmly pull the eyelid straight back toward the top of your ear, and blink hard. Once you get the hang of it, the lens will pop out with the blink. The reason this works is that the lids are against the eyeball on either side of the lens, and are pulled snug against the eyeball, so when you blink, the lids push the lens out of your eye. This method may cause droopy lids over time, so is not recommended.

Another popular method, which is more gentle, uses the same principle. In this method, you place a finger from each hand on the eyelids, in the middle of the eyelids, right at the eyelashes, one finger on the top lid and one finger on the bottom lid, directly above and below each other. Then with your fingers, pull the lids open so that the lids are no longer covering any part of the lens. (It's easiest if you have the colored part of the eye centered between the lids.) Then, press the eyelids gently against the eyeball, and move them toward the lens. With practice, you can use the edge of the lids to pop the lens out.


Insertion and Removal of Soft Lenses
Usually with soft lenses, you don't use an extra drop of solution in the lenses, but put the lenses on with just the moisture they have from coming right out of the soaking solution. Put the clean lens on the tip of your clean, dry finger. Make sure the lens is sitting up like an upright bowl on your fingertip. Hold your eyelids open very wide. One easy way to keep your lids open is to look up and trap your upper lashes against your brow, and pull your lower lid straight down. With soft lenses, if you bump your lids with the lens, the lens may wrap around your finger. If this happens, you have to reposition the lens and try again. You may put the lens on the white of the eye, or straight onto the cornea (front of eye). The lens will transfer from your fingertip to your eye, sticking to whichever is wetter. Move your eye around before you blink to help center the lens. If you blink too soon, you may blink the lens out of your eye. If that happens often, you can remedy it by closing your upper lid manually: grasp your upper lashes and lift the lid out and over the lens, then down to close. Before opening your eyes, pat your closed eyelid to remove any air bubbles trapped between the lens and your eye.

There are two popular ways to remove soft lenses. In both methods, you first slide the lens off the front of the eye to the white of the eye. There are two reasons for this: the lens doesn't fit the white of the eye as well, so it's easier to remove, and also, the white of the eye is less sensitive, so if you're clumsy removing the lens, you're clumsy with the white of the eye rather than with the front of the eye (the cornea), which you look through and which is more sensitive. Then you either gently pinch the lens off using the pads of your thumb and finger, or gently sweep the lens into the lower or side eyelid, using quick, short strokes, and cause the lens to buckle up, at which point you can lift the lens from your eyelid.

It's sometimes difficult to tell if soft lenses are inside out or not. If they are positioned right way up, the lens will cup up on the edges. If the lens is inside out, the edges will flare slightly outward. If the lens is the right way, it will roll up like a soft taco, or fold with the edges turning in. If it is inside out, it will resist a little, and fold with the edges turning out a bit. If you can't tell which way is correct, just put the lens in. If it's comfortable, it's correct. If it's uncomfortable and moves around a lot, put it in again the other way. You won't harm your eyes if you accidentally wear your soft lenses inside out, but the vision may not be as good.


Cleaning Contact Lenses
The cleaning solutions for soft lenses and RGPs are different. You must make sure you are using the correct type of solution for the lenses you are cleaning. (The bottle will say "for soft (or hydrogel) lenses," or "for rigid gas permeable (RGP) lenses.") Also, you must never mix or combine brands, although it's OK to switch brands if your eye doctor approves of the solution you are changing to. There are several different types of cleaning systems. Some are designed to be easy to use; others are specific for patients with very sensitive eyes. Your eye doctor will prescribe the correct cleaning solutions for your particular eyes and lenses.

In cleaning all elective (cosmetic) contact lenses, the first step after removing the lens is put some cleaning solution on the lens, then to gently rub both sides the lenses with cleaning solution in your palm for at least 10 seconds. This rubbing step "scrubs" the lens. Do this even if the solution bottle says "no rub." It's the best way to clean the lenses. Next, rinse the lens with solution. This step flushes away the stuff you've scrubbed off. Finally, the lens is disinfected by soaking overnight in the appropriate solution. Follow the instructions that come with your solution. The whole cleaning procedure takes less than a minute for both lenses. You will know if you are wearing a special lens that requires a different cleaning regime, because you will be wearing medically required contact lenses and your doctor will have told you how to care for your special contact lenses.

Always clean the lenses after removing them. You want them to be clean before you disinfect them. If you soak them without scrubbing them first, you will simply sterilize the gunk on the lenses. In the morning, your lenses are clean and ready to wear. After putting the lenses on, rinse the case and let it air dry. This will keep the case clean, as a dirty case is often the source for bacteria that cause eye infections.


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