Scleral contacts are larger than standard lenses and vault over the entire cornea, resting on the white part of your eye. That extra size makes insertion feel different from regular contacts, but the process becomes routine once you learn the steps. The key difference: you fill the lens bowl with saline solution before placing it on your eye, creating a fluid reservoir that sits between the lens and your cornea.
What You Need Before You Start
Wash your hands thoroughly with a mild, unscented soap and dry them on a lint-free cloth or towel. Fabric lint or lotion residue on your fingers can transfer to the lens and blur your vision or cause irritation. Set a flat mirror on the table in front of you so you can look straight down into it during insertion.
Before handling the lens, inspect your eyes in the mirror for any unusual redness or discharge. Then hold the scleral lens up to the light and check for chips, debris, or cloudy spots. If you see anything on the lens surface, rinse it with your recommended solution before proceeding. Always insert the same lens into the same eye first to avoid mixing them up.
Choosing the Right Filling Solution
Scleral lenses need to be filled with preservative-free saline before insertion. Preserved saline or multipurpose contact lens solution can irritate your cornea because the fluid sits trapped against your eye all day. The most commonly recommended options fall into three categories:
- Inhalation saline (single-use vials like Addipak or Modudose), which many practitioners consider the go-to choice for most patients.
- Branded preservative-free saline made specifically for scleral lenses, such as LacriPure, Nutrifill, or ScleraFil.
- Bottled preservative-free saline like PuriLens Plus, which is the main bottle option currently available.
If you don’t have any of these on hand, preservative-free artificial tears (such as Refresh Plus single-use vials) can work as a substitute. Your eye care provider will recommend a specific solution based on your needs.
Step-by-Step Insertion
Place the scleral lens concave side up on the tips of your index, middle, and ring fingers, forming a tripod. Some people find it easier to use a specialized plunger tool (sometimes called a suction cup inserter) instead of their fingers. If you use a plunger, place the lens on the tip of the tool so it sits in a stable, bowl-up position.
Fill the lens bowl completely with preservative-free saline. Overfill it slightly so the solution forms a small dome above the rim. This helps prevent air from getting trapped underneath once the lens is on your eye. Work over a table or counter in case the saline spills.
With your other hand, use your fingers to hold both your upper and lower eyelids wide open. This is important because scleral lenses are large enough that your lids can knock the lens off course mid-insertion. Look straight down into the flat mirror on the table. Bring the lens up toward your eye from below, keeping it level so the saline doesn’t spill out. Place the lens directly onto your eye in one smooth motion.
Once the lens makes contact, hold still for a moment before releasing your eyelids. Let go of the lower lid first, then the upper lid. Blink gently. The lens should feel comfortable almost immediately because the saline cushion prevents the lens from touching your cornea.
Checking for Air Bubbles
Air bubbles are the most common problem after insertion. If a bubble is trapped under the lens, you’ll typically notice it right away: your vision will look distorted, or you’ll see a visible bubble when you look in the mirror. Small bubbles (around 2mm or less) may not interfere with your sight, but large bubbles can disrupt the lens fit, blur your vision, and even dry out the cornea underneath.
A bubble that appears the moment you insert the lens almost always means the insertion technique needs adjustment, usually because the lens tilted during placement and let air slip in. The fix is straightforward: remove the lens, refill it with saline, and try again. There’s no way to “push” a bubble out once the lens is seated. If bubbles show up a few minutes after insertion rather than immediately, that can indicate a fit issue worth discussing with your eye care provider.
Verifying the Lens Is Seated Correctly
After insertion, look in the mirror and check that the lens is centered over your cornea. The edge of the lens should rest evenly on the white part of your eye in all directions. Your vision should be clear, and the lens should feel stable when you blink. If the lens feels like it’s shifting or sitting off-center, remove it and reinsert.
You shouldn’t feel any sharp discomfort or persistent awareness of the lens edge. Some mild awareness is normal during your first few days of wear, but pain or a scratchy sensation means something is off. Remove the lens and inspect it for debris before trying again.
How to Remove Scleral Lenses
Removal requires breaking the gentle suction seal between the lens and your eye. The easiest method uses a small suction plunger tool designed for this purpose. Wet the plunger tip with saline solution first, which helps it grip the lens and also loosens the seal. Place the plunger onto the lower third of the lens, making sure it attaches securely. Then gently press in and pull up and outward to lift the lens off your eye.
If you don’t have a plunger, you can remove the lens manually by looking up, pulling your lower lid down, and pressing gently on the lower edge of the lens to break the seal. This takes more practice and coordination than the plunger method, so most scleral lens wearers keep a plunger tool handy.
Daily Wear Time and Care
Most people can safely wear scleral lenses for 12 to 16 hours per day, though your individual tolerance depends on your eye health and how well your eyes have adapted. Your provider will likely start you at a shorter wear time and gradually increase it. Remove the lenses before sleeping unless you’ve been specifically told otherwise.
Midday fogging is a common complaint, especially for newer wearers. It happens when your natural tears seep under the lens edge and mix with the clean saline in the reservoir. Because tears contain proteins, lipids, and mucus, they cloud the fluid and blur your vision. If fogging becomes a regular issue, it often points to the lens edge not sealing tightly enough against your eye, something your provider can adjust. In the short term, removing the lens, rinsing it, refilling with fresh saline, and reinserting usually clears the problem.
Common Beginner Mistakes
Not holding the eyelids open wide enough is the most frequent insertion struggle. Your natural blink reflex fights you, and if your lids catch the edge of the lens, it tilts and traps air or falls off your fingers entirely. Practice holding your lids firmly with your non-dominant hand, pulling the upper lid against your brow bone and the lower lid down past the lash line.
Underfilling the lens bowl is another common error. If the saline doesn’t dome above the rim, air will get trapped during placement. It feels counterintuitive to overfill because saline will spill, but that small overflow is what keeps the bubble out. Work over a towel and don’t worry about the drip.
Finally, rushing the process causes most first-week frustration. Many new wearers take 10 to 15 minutes per lens at the beginning. That’s normal. Speed comes with muscle memory. If you’ve been trying for several minutes and your eyes are watering and irritated, take a break, let your eyes calm down, and try again. Forcing it through tearing and flinching rarely works.