How to Remove Soft Contact Lenses in an Emergency

You may need to remove your contacts in an emergency.

Soft contact lenses don't last as long as hard contact lenses. They must be cleaned often and replaced at regular intervals as directed by your doctor. Sometimes an emergency may arise, such as a piece of dirt or debris flying into your eye. If this occurs, you need to remove the soft contact lens as soon as possible to minimize any damage to your eye, or to the contact lens itself.

Things You'll Need

• Soap
• Water
• Saline solution or re-wetting drops

Instructions

1. Wash your hands with soap and water first, if possible. Depending on how serious the emergency is, you may not have time to wash your hands.

2. Put two drops of saline solution or re-wetting drops into the eye containing the lens that needs to be removed. If your eye is too dry, it may be difficult to remove the contact lens. The drops will allow the soft contacts to slide for easier removal.

3. Hold your bottom eyelid down and look up with your eye.

4. Place your index finger directly on the contact and slide it down to the white of your eye.

5. Pinch the soft contact with your index finger and thumb and pull outward. Your contact is now removed from your eye.

Tips & Warnings

• If you cannot remove the contact yourself, a physician will lower your bottom lid, slide the contact down, and pinch it out.

• If anything is embedded in your eye, seek medical attention immediately. Do not try to remove the contact or the item that is embedded in your eye.

References

• Baush & Lomb: Inserting and Removing Contact Lenses
• Cornea and Contact Lens Society: Handling Soft Contacts
• Contact Lens Answers: Methods of Contact Lens Insertion and Removal