Contact lens stuck in eye on Xmas day

[SadlyNotATroll]

Posting here for traffic sorry. I rubbed my eye this morning (thank you children for the 4am wake up!) and felt my contact lens dislodge. Tried to get it out but couldn’t find it, and scratched my eyeball in the process and it bled slightly. Still can’t find the lens and have a red dot on my eyeball. It doesn’t hurt or feel like there’s anything in my eye. What can I do?

Call NHS 24 for advice.

Call 111
dont mess about with eyes

Phone 111

Have you got an sterile eye drops or saline to keep your eye hydrated ?
A couple of drops and the natural tears .

My DMum had something similar , a soft lens had torn ( she didn't think it was in her eye ) but I was near to taking her to A&E when I saw the lens in her eye .

Phone 111 yes

Can you ask someone else to have a good look around to try and locate it? If they can't, ring the out-of-hours GP, 111 or go to A&E.

I have first-hand experience of being (against my wishes, twice) asked to go straight to A&E for eye issues which are taken very seriously, even though to me it was minor. In both cases, the GP, then 111 said that A&E consider certain seemingly innocent eye issues an emergency and this sounds like one of them.

When I showed up at hospital both times, as it was an eye issue, they took me straight in to an ophthalmologist.

If it could be somewhere in/around the eye, then that is urgent. But ensure someone helps you look for it first.

Try to saturate your eye with saline. If you have glasses and pop them on you'll know if the lens is stuck to your eye or not because vision will be blurry in that eye. Try not to further rub your eye. If poss wear glasses for the next couple days. Visit your optometrist to examen your eyes asap. Some have urgent appts available so worthwhile to phone and find out.

For future, always have eye drops for dry eyes and make it habit to use them regularly.
Good luck. 💐

This is the eye currently

Saturate with saline. Could it have rolled up under your top eyelid? This happens to me sometimes, easiest way to dislodge is to saturate with drops, hold top eyelid out by the lashes, tip head toward the ceiling and keep your head still while moving your eyeball up and down. If you get it to move into the inner corner it will be easier to manoeuvre out

I hadn’t even considered it would be bad enough to go to A&E!

Could it have fallen out? When you rubbed it? Have a good look around.

Otherwise, as with PP, plenty of saline solution, gently massage your eyelid & see if you can feel anything.

But yes, maybe A&E a possibility 🫩

You usually feel a contact lens even if it's not in place. Are you sure it hasn't fallen out?

I have scars on my corneas, I was very close to having a lot worse, so I always err on the side of caution with my eyes but quite often lose a contact and think it's still in there when its actually fallen out. Call 111 and wear your glasses.

i actually get this happen every few months (bearing in mind I’ve been wearing daily contacts for around 15 years), never once thought to go to a&e. But that’s just me, maybe do as per the above posters suggestion a few times first- lots of saline, pull the eye lid up and look upwards/ sideways until it comes out (sorry that’s abit graphic but it always works for me!). Maybe if you still can’t dislodge it in an hour call 111? Or see if a partner/ someone close with you can help.

Whatever you do dont try and get it out with tweezers,My Friend is a Optician and had someone with a very sore scratched eye

It can’t go anywhere as there’s a membrane that stops it. I’d put in eye drops and wiggle both lids after lifting them and having a good look to see if it’s there.

Is it a soft or hard lens? With my gas permeable lens this has happened a couple of times and it has reappeared visible in about 20 mins. I would phone 111 though. There may be a duty optician.

I also second being sure it hasnt come out. Again more likely with an RPG. It is worth going somewhere with a non carpet floor and taking off and shaking out your clothes. I've had to do that when I knew one had come out.

Put saline into your eye. Gently press on your eyelid to try and move it onto your eye. I've had this before and it usually reappears after a while. It can't go behind your eye, so will move back. It could also have come out when you felt it dislodge.

Lots of saline but I second A and E otherwise

The photo looks as though it might be in the far outer corner.

Check the corners but it may have fallen out and the sensation is just where you have scratched/irritated your eye. I once spent about an hour trying to find a lens in my eye and then found it on the floor. It can’t really go anywhere so if it’s not visible folded up in a corner or something the likelihood is it fell out and the ongoing irritation is from where your cornea has been scratched or irritated.

And I personally wouldn’t go to A&E. First of all, they don’t have access to special optometric equipment there generally so they won’t really be able to do anything. The last time I rang 111 about an eye issue they didn’t really want to send to out of hours because they wouldn’t be able to do much. The optician is really better or the eye department, neither of which are likely to be operational today. Also if you aren’t in pain and it’s not visible in your eye then it’s probably just burst blood vessels or similar.

Yeah I’d say I can see it there too. Loads and loads of saline or eye drops and give it a bit of time to work its way back first.

Your contact lenses cannot go round to the back of your eye. It’s physically impossible.

You need to get yourself to a&e and get that scratch looked at.

There’s always an ophthalmologist on call.

Have you double checked it's definitely still in there? I had similar many years ago, couldn't get it out or so I thought, spent about an hour at the sink fishing in my eye before giving up and going to bed.

The next morning, going to have another try, I spotted the shrivelled contact lens stuck to the sink.

For something very minor like this I doubt they would even make the call.