What to do if you drop your contact lens on the floor
Everyone knows it’s safe to eat food you drop on the floor if you do so within five seconds, right? You simply announce “five-second rule,” scoop up your snack, brush off any obvious contamination, and you’re good to go. Well, turns out it’s not quite that simple. And neither is dealing with a dropped contact lens.
Although you should throw them away if you’re in doubt, fumbled contacts can often be saved. Let’s get into (1) what to do if you drop a contact lens, (2) how to clean a dirty contact lens, and (3) how to prepare for dropped contacts.
What to do if you drop a contact lens
Stay calm. Some contacts can smell fear. If you’re lucky enough to see where your lens landed, try to pick it up right away to reduce the potential for damage and germs. Inspect the runaway contact and throw it out if you find any tears, chips, cracks, or rips (we have free torn lens replacement if you buy from us). Also, you should probably toss dropped daily lenses. They’re a bit of a lost cause as they aren’t meant to be cleaned or soaked like biweekly or monthly lenses.
Not sure where your contact lens went? Don’t worry. WikiHow has advice for basically everything, and lost contacts are no exception. First, stay put and begin searching immediately. Remove your shoes if necessary, so you don’t accidentally crush the lens. If your initial search is fruitless, use a flashlight and/or a vacuum with a nylon sock or pantyhose attached to the nozzle. The vacuum hack might enable you to suction your contact without sucking it up.
How to clean a dirty contact lens
We wrote a whole ‘nother blog post on how to clean contact lenses, so we’ll stick to the basics here. At the least, you’ll want to thoroughly rinse your dirty contact with saline. It’s better, however, to properly clean and disinfect the lens before wearing it. Proper cleaning includes soaking your contact in contact lens solution according to the solution’s instructions (usually for several hours or more). Oh, and pleeeaase don’t “clean” your contacts with saliva or tap water.
How to prepare for dropped contacts
Dropped contacts are common, so it’s always good to be prepared with contact lens solution, extra contacts, and a pair of backup glasses. We know backup glasses get a bit of a bad rap, but we sell some pretty cool ones at Liingo Eyewear. Check them out here.