Help I can get my contact lenses out!!

[Dickorydockwhatthe]

Really panicking and I’ve stopped and had retried but don’t want to make my eye sore :-( I can move it but can’t seem to pinch it to remove from my eye. I’ve tried moisten it with solution but it’s not budging pleas help!! I want to cry 😢

Are you certain it’s still in there? I’ve been wearing lenses for yonks and even now occasionally desperately claw at one of my eyes and it turns out the lens had been out all the time.

I personally find the wetter your eye the better - eye drops, water at a pinch - as then it usually will just slip out. Wouldn’t really recommend sleeping with it in. Would definitely recommend taking a break from trying to remove it as you’re just aggravating your poor eye, and getting wound up (don’t blame you, I hate this).

With eyes wide open and fingers pressing lashes back onto lids I should add. It was how I learnt to remove rigid lenses and I've carried on since switching to soft.

I have the toric ones for astigmatism and they are far harder to get out! Please don't panic though as it will come out, it just needs more force on your pinch than normal lenses in my experience.

Hold eye open with one hand, stand close to mirror, put finger of other hand centrally on lens, pull down. Once not Sat so centrally, the suction lessens making it easier to slide out at the bottom of the eye.

Thank god ive just come down stairs and took a moment to calm down as my fingers were getting clammy. Not sure how I did it but I tried doing it again looking straight ahead with no mirror and it’s come out!! Eye looks a little red underneath not sure if it was the solution hoping it’s ok!!
Thank thank you so much for reassuring me I was so panicking as it really wasn’t budging and I’ve only worn them for a few hours so didn’t expect it!! I’ve had this before with other lensesbut never this bad!!

From experience - make sure it hasn't come out without you realising. I once spent about an hour trying to remove a lens in increasing panic late at night; eventually gave up and went to bed. In the morning, about to have another attempt, I spotted the shrivelled up lens stuck the side of the sink.

Yep, this. Except I didn't find mine and I went to A&E having scratched my eyeball because of the repeated attempts.

If it is still in there, contact lens solution and sleep are the best solutions. They tend to work themselves out with one of those.

X-post! Glad you're sorted OP

@MeetOnTheSIedge I do the same as you and been wearing them since I was early teens. No need to actually touch your eye or pinch the lens itself: just a finger on top lid and one on lower and squeeze together and it pops out!

Glad you've got it out, the redness is likely to be just from messing with your eye so much! If it's painful tomorrow it's worth getting your eye looked at by your optometrist, but it should feel a lot better tomorrow.

I got the left one out fine but for some reason the other wouldn’t come out!!

Thank you everyone I feel so relieved 😌 and nice to have someone talk me through it and reassurance. Dh just carried on watching match of the day 🙄 not sure
If I want to wear them again though 😞

yes, are you sure it is still in? It's very easy to get a bit tiddly and not realise, a girl I worked with spent a jolly post party evening trying to get a hold of her actual cornea. And the next morning in the chair of an optometrist colleague having her eye checked.

The cornea pincher is now a fully qualified optician! :o

If you are sure it is still in then I would give it half an hour, use some saline or similar to moisten your eye and then try again.
you have the swipe and pinch as described above by discodown or if you are not a blinker then you can try the two fore fingers
....line them up in front of your eye (palms facing you)
... leave a tiny gap between them and stare right through that
...move fingers in towards your eye and as you feel your fingers on the white of your eye roll them together and they should catch the sides and pinch the lens right off.

Keep the fingers together as you move your hands away from your face and do not drop lens unless it is a disposable! ;) Lens will remain between your finger pads.

It is better to swipe and pinch as you don't really see anything, and the lens should remove more easily from the flatter white part of your eye, but if you have longer than usual nails it can be difficult not to think you are going to catch the nails in your eye and you end up scaring yourself.
The two forefingers just uses the pad of your finger so no nail worries.

Ahhh, cross posted! Well done! :o

It's the only respect in which gas permeables were better than soft lenses. You could just flick them out with your eyelid however drunk you were. But, the agony when you got a bit of dust or grit behind one!

I gave up lenses when I got to the age where my glasses served to hide my eye bags!

I had this too, alright with one, could never manage the second, I'm still worse at one eye than the other. Go back to your optician and ask them to walk you through it or practise at home when you're calm, with natural light if possible.

Yes, the agony of dust behind a GP lens was something I was very glad to leave behind. They served me well for 20 years though.

Op its a panic reaction i get it. If it happens in future stop trying. Just wash your hands take deep breaths maybe even habe a glass of water and dry your eyes. Sometimes it helps me if i change mirrors so if i cant get them out doenstairs i will try upstairs after i calm down. They always will come out so dont panic.

Yes, I wore GPs for ten years. I went onto them as soon as I was 16 (my glasses-wearing mum was sympathetic and very kindly paid for them). I was fine until I started working in a heavily air-conditioned office, which dried my eyes and made them painful, so I changed to wearing glasses for work and disposable soft lenses in my leisure time.

Thank you, for the advice I may pop in and see if I can try them and remove them with someone there for guidance. I’ve worn lenses for years but took a break due to my my eyes getting very dry. But I’ve since returned and trialling different lenses. I’ve had it happen before but it just seemed worse last night probably because I knew it was new lense plus they are a lot thinner so seem more fiddly.

What about trying rigid gas permeable? They are the best for your oxygen problems.

Oh sorry, ignore that.