A stuck contact lens almost always comes out with a few simple techniques you can do at home. The lens cannot slip behind your eye, so even if it feels lost, it’s still sitting somewhere on the front surface of your eye or tucked under an eyelid. The key is to rehydrate the lens, locate it, and gently work it free without scratching your cornea in the process.
Why Contact Lenses Get Stuck
A contact lens sticks when it dries out against the surface of your eye. This happens most often if you fall asleep wearing lenses, spend a long time in dry air or wind, or skip blinking for extended periods while staring at a screen. When the thin layer of tears between the lens and your eye evaporates, the lens essentially suctions itself to the tissue underneath. Soft lenses are the most common culprits because they’re thin and conform tightly to the eye’s surface when dehydrated.
Rehydrate the Lens First
Before you touch your eye, wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water. Then focus on getting moisture back under the lens. This single step solves the problem for most people.
Use preservative-free saline solution, sterile eye wash, or rewetting drops designed for contact lenses. Let a steady stream flow over your open eye for several seconds. Blink repeatedly afterward. The fluid works its way under the edges of the lens and breaks the seal holding it in place. You can repeat this several times.
If you don’t have any of those on hand, preservative-free artificial tears work too. Do not use tap water, which can introduce bacteria and parasites to your eye. Also avoid using your regular contact lens cleaning solution as an eye wash, since it contains chemicals not meant for direct, prolonged contact with the eye’s surface.
Removing a Soft Lens That Won’t Budge
Once you’ve added moisture, look in a mirror in a well-lit room. If you can see the lens centered on your iris, place the pad of your index finger gently on the lens and slide it down onto the white of your eye. From there, pinch it lightly between your thumb and index finger to fold it off the surface. Sliding it off the cornea first reduces the risk of scratching that sensitive central tissue.
If the lens is off-center but visible, look in the opposite direction of where the lens is sitting. This exposes more of the white of your eye and makes the lens easier to reach. Add more drops, then gently nudge the lens toward the center or the lower white of your eye where you can pinch it out.
Finding a Lens That Feels Lost
Sometimes you can feel the lens but can’t see it. It has likely slid up under your upper eyelid, which is the most common hiding spot. The lens can only travel as far as the natural crease in the tissue lining your upper eyelid. It physically cannot pass behind your eye.
To find it, try closing your eye and gently massaging through the eyelid in a downward motion toward your lower lashes. This can coax the lens back down over the cornea where you can see and remove it. You can also try flipping your upper eyelid: look down, grasp the lashes of your upper lid, and gently fold the lid upward over a cotton swab placed horizontally across the outside of the lid. This exposes the pocket where the lens is likely hiding.
Adding lubricating drops before and during this process helps the lens slide more freely. Once you spot it, use a fingertip to gently guide it back to the center of your eye.
Removing a Hard or RGP Lens
Rigid gas permeable lenses require a slightly different approach because they don’t fold. The most reliable tool is a small suction cup plunger made specifically for hard lenses. Wet the suction cup, use your thumb and forefinger to hold your eyelids apart, and gently press the center of the plunger against the center of the lens. It adheres to the hard surface, and you pull straight out to pop the lens off your eye. Applying a drop of rewetting solution to the lens before using the plunger makes the seal form more easily.
If you don’t have a plunger, you can try the eyelid method: open your eyes wide, place a finger at the outer corner of your eye, and pull the skin slightly toward your ear while blinking firmly. The tension from your eyelid edges can pop the rigid lens out. Have your other hand cupped below your eye to catch it.
What Not to Do
- Don’t use fingernails or sharp objects. Even a small scratch on the cornea causes significant pain, and you’ll know immediately if it happens.
- Don’t rub your eye aggressively. This can tear a dried-out soft lens, leaving fragments behind, or push a hard lens into the tissue.
- Don’t keep trying for more than 15 to 20 minutes. If lubrication, massage, and gentle manipulation haven’t worked, your eye will be increasingly irritated. Give it a break, add more drops, and try again after 10 to 15 minutes.
- Don’t use tweezers, cotton balls, or tissues. Fibers can shed into your eye, and tweezers can injure the surface.
Signs You’ve Scratched Your Cornea
If the lens comes out but your eye still hurts, you may have a corneal abrasion. Symptoms include sharp or stinging eye pain, the persistent feeling that something is still in your eye, watery eyes, blurred vision, redness, and sensitivity to light. Swollen eyelids can also develop.
Minor scratches heal quickly. The cells on the cornea reproduce faster than almost anywhere else in the body, and most small abrasions resolve within 24 to 48 hours. Larger scratches take longer but still typically heal within a few days without lasting problems. If the pain is severe, if your vision stays blurry after the lens is out, or if symptoms worsen rather than improve, that warrants a visit to an eye care provider or urgent care.
Preventing It From Happening Again
The simplest prevention is never sleeping in lenses that aren’t rated for overnight wear. Even lenses approved for extended wear carry a higher risk of complications when worn during sleep. Keep rewetting drops with you during the day, especially if you work in air-conditioned or heated environments that dry your eyes out. Replace your lenses on schedule rather than stretching them past their intended lifespan, since older lenses lose moisture more easily and are more prone to sticking. And if you notice your eyes feeling dry or your lenses feeling tight during the day, add drops before the lens has a chance to fully dehydrate and bond to your eye.