How to remove your contact lenses in 3 easy ways

Well done! If you’re reading this it means you’ve successfully inserted your contact lenses like a boss and would like to now up your game by removing them successfully. If you’re still learning how to do the former, here’s how to insert your contact lenses easily. Whether you wear dailies, weeklies, monthlies or colored contact lenses – you’ll be glad to know that removing your lenses requires the same careful process each time – and with practice, you’ll become more and more slick with them as you go.

Even though removing your contact lenses might become something you can trust yourself to do on autopilot one day, finding the perfect process that suits you and your particular habits can take some trial and error. That’s why we’ve put together some already tried and tested techniques to help you remove your contact lenses, so that you can find what’s best for you in the healthiest and most efficient way possible.

Before we get into techniques, it’s important to practice these basic hygiene tips before ever going near your eyes or your contact lenses.

Step 1: Wash your hands with soap and water
The eyes are the easiest way for viruses and germs to enter the body – so make sure you’re not touching, scratching or rubbing your eyes at all in the day, let alone with unwashed hands. This is vital for touching and removing your contact lenses and keeping them in tip-top form.

Step 2: Use a microfiber towel
Drying your hands thoroughly is really important – since you don’t want any moisture or remaining residue to get between your contact lenses and your eyes. Try and invest in a microfiber towel, as this material is durable in washes and lasts longer than cotton – thereby reducing any chance of debris or lint to remain behind on your fingers. Once you’ve dried your hands, you’re now almost ready to handle and remove your contact lenses!

Step 3: Prepare your contact lenses case
Make sure your contact lens case is clean. Be sure to fill your contact lens case with professional contact lens cleaner solution ONLY. Never use water or any other liquid to rinse your contact lenses – and you should also never ever reuse content lens cleaner. Fresh is best! Always. Lastly, when it comes to removing or inserting your contact lenses, make sure to start with the same eye every time.

Step 4: Get ready!
Right, you’re now set to remove your contact lenses carefully. Here are the top three techniques and tips you can try. Remember, you should never feel pain or discomfort while inserting or removing your contact lenses. If at any point you experience this, make sure to contact your healthcare provider for advice.

The front-on-removal method
This is the most popular technique and requires quite a bit of confidence in being able to simply just reach for your eyeball. If the idea of touching your eyeball makes you squirm perhaps you should read on and try the other two techniques listed below. For those of you with courage, here’s what to do:
Stand over a sink in front of a well-lit mirror. That way, if your contact lens happens to fall out, it will land in the sink instead of the dirty floor. With your non-dominant hand, pull your top eyelid gently open. Next, use your other hand to remove your contact lens by gently reaching toward your eyeball and pinching your contact lens together with two fingers. The contact lens should easily slip onto your finger after that. Make sure to place your contact lens directly into the contact lens case with fresh contact lens solution. Repeat this method with the other eye.

The ceiling method
This technique is great if you’ve got long nails or hate the idea of touching your eyeballs, as this technique involves sliding the contact lens instead of pinching it. Here’s how to do it: Stand over a sink in front of a well-lit mirror. That way, if your contact lens happens to fall out, it will land in the sink instead of the dirty floor. With your non-dominant hand, pull your top eyelid gently open. Then, look up toward the ceiling. Using your other hand, use your index finger to gently pull the contact lens down toward your lower lid. Keep pulling the lens down until it slips off your eyeball and onto your finger. Repeat this method with the other eye.

Side-slide method
This technique uses the curvature of your eyeball to help remove your contact lens, as your contact lenses are designed to sit perfectly on the curvature of it. First things, first – just like the last two techniques, stand over a sink in front of a well-lit mirror. That way, if your contact lens happens to fall out, it will land in the sink instead of the dirty floor. With your non-dominant hand, pull your top eyelid gently open. Then, using the other hand, use your middle finger to gently pull your bottom lid down. Lastly, use your index finger on that same hand to gently slide your contact lens across your eyeball to the corner of your eye. The lens should easily slide across and onto your finger.

Warnings
Whether you wear disposable, dailies, weeklies or monthlies – it’s vitally important to remove your contact lenses every night before bed, or as otherwise determined by your healthcare provider. You should also be careful of over extending the wear limit of your contact lenses. For example, dailies should be thrown away every day.  A biweekly disposable lens should be thrown away after 14 days, and a monthly disposable lens should be thrown away after 30 days.

Failing to remove or dispose of your contact lenses correctly can lead to serious health conditions that could have long-standing effects on your eyesight. The most common condition being “corneal neovascularization”. This is commonly caused from oxygen deprivation to the eyes when you leave your contact lenses in for too long (as in, overnight). When this happens, your blood vessels become enlarged, causing redness to your cornea, tearing, light sensitivity and then finally, if really bad, blurred vision. If you suspect you might have this condition, you should see your optometrist immediately for further assessment and, if needed, treatment.

If indeed you are smart with your contact lenses and care for your eyes and your contact lenses correctly, there shouldn’t be any issues. However, it’s always a good idea to invest in quality eyedrops and lens solution to help keep both your eyes and their contact lenses clean, comfy and reliable.

As you begin this new exciting journey toward better smarter and simpler eye care – we wish you all the confidence you need to be able to handle your eyeballs carefully as you learn how best to remove your contact lenses. Check out our contact lens store, and if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us and we’ll be happy to assist.