AskTheContactLensGuy

Is It Possible To Lose A Contact Lens in Your Eye?

A lot of new lens wearers worry about losing a contact lens somewhere in their eye. The reality is, the exposed part of your eye is such a small area, that you aren’t going to “lose” the lens in there.

If you take a look in the mirror at your eyes you will notice your lids naturally cover a portion of the white of your eye and, for some, part of the cornea. Now gently pull your lower lid down. Notice that your eye and lid are attached to one another? If you do the same thing with your upper lid, you probably will not be able to see that they are connected up there, but take my word for it, they are.

So you see, a contact lens is not going to get lost under your lower lid because there is nowhere for it to go. Now it can go under your upper lid. But don’t worry, it can’t go too far.

Removing a soft lens from under your upper lid:

1. look downward, towards your chin
2. Close your eyes and keep looking downward
3. Rub over your lid from your nose, towards your ear (inside to outside).
4. Open your eye and lift your upper lid
5. Remove the lens

Removing a gas permeable contact lens from under your upper lid:

1. Ensure you are over a surface in case the lens falls out
2. Look downward with your eyes towards your chin
3. Lift your upper lid, exposing as much white of the eye as possible
4. Expose as much lens as possible
5. Use the edge of your lid against the upper edge of the contact to slide the lens down towards your cornea (use caution in case the lens falls out)

Keep in mind that having a lens on the white of the eye is not dangerous. The first step is really to keep relaxed. Take note that a lens under the lid does not hurt and not causing any damage. At worst, it may tickle a little.

Once you have recovered the contact, as long as your eye feels alright and the lens is not damaged, it is safe to clean it up and put it back on.

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