2. How to take out your contact lenses

Jun 18, 2020

“How To Take Out Your Contact Lenses” is the second video in a three part series aimed to help you learn the ins and outs of contact lens wear. Don’t forget to also check out “How To Put In Your Contact Lenses” and “How To Clean Your Contact Lenses.”

Video Transcript

This is Emily. Emily has something in her eye. Don’t worry, it’s just your contact lens. Remember when you put it in this morning? Well Emily, it’s time to get that lens out of there. You’re going to be fine. Trust us. We’ll tell you exactly what you need to do.

Taking Out Your Contacts

Here’s what you’ll need. Clean hands. A solid colored towel, lint-free if you have one. Your lens case. You won’t have one if you wear dailies. As we covered in our first video, Putting in Your Contact Lenses, you’ll want to begin by washing and drying your hands thoroughly, then placing a solid colored towel over the sink so you can find your lens if you drop it. Here’s the most important part. Holding your eyelids open. You’re trying to create as much space as possible to remove the lens, so it’s important to keep both eyes open and fight the natural urge to close them.

(Not wide open… Difficult to get lenses out!)

(Wide open… Super-duper easy to get lenses out!)

With the hand that you won’t be using to take your lens out, use your pointer finger to gently lift the eyelashes of your upper lid towards your eyebrow, pressing the lid against the bone. Now take the middle finger of your other hand and press on the lower lashes and just like you did with the upper lid, pull the lower lid down towards your cheek. Keep both of your eyes as wide open as possible and look straight ahead. Take a deep breath and relax. Now with the thumb and forefinger of your bottom hand, gently pinch the outer edges of the lens towards each other. The lens will bow and come away from your eye as you continue to pinch your fingers together. Don’t worry, it may take a few tries.

With practice, you’ll be a contacts removing superhero.

1-800 Contacts. Never run out of contacts.

 
 
You’ve mastered putting them in, now it’s time to learn how to remove your contact lenses. The best news? Taking them out is even easier than putting them in.

What you’ll need

  • Sink
  • Mirror
  • Clean countertop
  • Unscented, lotion-free soap
  • Solid-colored, lint-free towel

Scrub-a-dub-dub

It’s important to wash your hands with an unscented, lotion-free soap and dry them with a lint-free towel. Perfumes and lotions from soaps and lint from towels can all contribute to unnecessary irritation. After you’ve finished getting your hands clean and dry, place your towel over the sink to keep your lens from going down the drain.

Open wide

Creating as much space as possible to get your lens out is super important. Use the pointer finger of your non-dominant hand to gently lift the eyelashes of your upper lid to the brow bone. With the middle finger of your dominant hand, press the lower lashes at the hairline and pull down towards the cheek.

Taking out your contacts

Use the thumb and pointer finger of your dominant hand to gently pinch the outer edges of the lens towards each other. The lens should bow and come away from your eye as you continue to pinch your fingers together.

Next steps

If you wear daily disposable lenses you can discard your lenses after taking them out. If not, learn about cleaning your contact lenses and case here.