Contact lens, though are great alternatives to glasses, if insert incorrectly into your eyes can result in eye irritation or even damage your eyes. Hence, to safeguard from all these unwanted problems, it is prudent to know how to go about inserting them correctly.
The 9 steps of inserting contact lenses are detailed as follows :
Step 1.
Wash your hands with soap and rinse thoroughly to get rid of soap residue.
Step 2.
Identify your right or left lens according to your prescription, remove the right side/left side of your contact lens from its case and place it on your index finger.
Pointer to take note :
- It doesn’t matter which side you go first. All you have to take note is which one of your lens is for which eye.
- Use the index finger which you are comfortable with while changing your lens.
- Make sure that your contact lens is sitting hollow-side up on your fingertip with none of the side walls sticking to your skin.
- If it is a soft lens, make sure that it isn’t inside-out.
- Inspect lens for rips, tears or debris.
- Rinse away any dust or debris with lens solution [divider]
Step 3.
Gently pull your skin away from your eye. Use the index finger of your opposite hand to pull your upper eyelid upward; use the middle finger of your dominant hand (i.e. the one with the contact on it) to pull your lower eyelid downward. As you become more experienced, you’ll be able to do this just by pulling down your lower eyelid.
Step 4.
Move the contact lens towards your eye steadily and avoid blinking your eyes or moving unnecessarily. To ensure that you remain calm during this process, you may want to look upwards instead of looking at the lens when it is moving towards your eye.
Step 5.
Gently place the contact lens on your eye and ensure that it is centered over your iris (i.e. the circular, colored part of the eye). If necessary, you may gently slide it over your eyeball to make it stay in place.
Step 6.
Let go of the under-eye skin first, then the top skin. (Letting go of the top first might create tiny air bubbles against your eye, which can hurt).
Step 7.
Try to blink slowly after you have put on your lens so as to not dislodge the contact. Blink a few times slowly to feel for any pain or discomfort. If you think that something may be wrong with your contact lenses, remove and fully cleanse it, then try again.
Step 8.
Repeat the process with the other side of your contact lens.
Step 9.
Pour contact solution from the case into the sink and close the contact case.
