Contact Lens Stuck in Eye: Causes and Remedies

If you wear contact lenses, you have probably had that small jolt of panic — a lens shifts, you can't feel it, and you wonder if it slipped somewhere behind your eye. Take a breath. A contact lens cannot get lost behind your eye, and here's why: it comes down to simple anatomy. A thin, moist membrane called the conjunctiva covers the white of your eye and folds back to line the inside of your eyelids. That fold creates a continuous pocket that seals off the back of your eyeball, so a lens has nowhere to disappear to. The American Academy of Ophthalmology puts it plainly: a contact lens can only travel as far as the crease in the conjunctiva under your upper eyelid — it cannot go behind your eye. [1]

So when a lens feels lost, it has not vanished. It has usually just slid off your cornea (the clear front window of your eye) and tucked under a lid. This guide covers how to tell where the lens is, why it got stuck and how to get a stuck contact out of your eye safely.

How to tell if a contact lens is still in your eye?

It is unsettling when you cannot feel a lens you know went in. Your first job is to work out whether it is still on your eye at all. Sometimes a lens you think is stuck has actually fallen out — onto your cheek, your shirt or the sink — without you noticing. Check the obvious spots around you before you go hunting.

If the lens is still on your eye, you will usually feel it. A displaced lens tends to sit under the upper lid and creates a gritty, foreign-body feeling that is hard to ignore, even after 8 hours of comfortable wear. Wash your hands, then look in a mirror and gently pull your upper lid up and your lower lid down. Move your eye slowly towards the sore spot — if the lens is up top, look down — and you can often spot the soft edge of the lens against the white of your eye. You can also close the eye and feel gently through the lid, where a stuck lens often shows up as a small bump.

Why does a contact lens get stuck?

Dryness is the usual culprit. When the tear film (the thin layer of moisture over your eye) thins out, the lens loses its cushion. It grips your eye instead of floating on it. A tired, dry lens is a sticky lens, and one careless rub can then fold it or slide it up under the top lid.

Lenses worn overnight when they are not approved for it dry out, so they cling by morning. Debris (a stray eyelash, a fleck of mascara) can nudge a lens off-centre too. It happens more easily after 8 hours at a screen.

This is where the right lens care earns its keep. A quick squeeze of contact-lens rewetting drops floods the surface and lets a gripping lens float free again. Reach for a drop made to re-wet your lenses while they stay in — OPTI-FREE PureMoist Rewetting Drops are compatible with all soft lenses, so you can refresh your eyes without taking the lens out; a small bottle runs about $8 and slips into your bag. That is not the same as the multipurpose solution you clean and store lenses with overnight, which is never meant to go in the eye. If your eyes run dry often, try a silicone hydrogel lens (a breathable material that lets more oxygen reach your eye). It stays wetter for longer, so it is less likely to dry out and stick in the first place.

How to remove a contact lens that's stuck in your eye

When a lens is stuck and you can feel every blink, the urge is to dig it out fast. Don't. Here's how to get it out safely, step by step. First, wash and dry your hands with soap — a stuck lens is no reason to skip hygiene, since your fingers are about to get close to a sore, already-irritated eye.

Then work through these steps in order:

• 1.Flood the eye with sterile rewetting drops or saline (never tap water, which is not sterile and can carry germs). The extra fluid floats the lens and breaks its grip. The American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends sterile saline or artificial tears to help float a stuck lens out from under the lid. [1]

• 2.Close your eye and gently massage the lid in the direction you want the lens to move — usually down and in, towards the coloured part of your eye. Slow, light pressure guides the lens; hard rubbing folds it.

• 3.Look the opposite way from where the lens is stuck. If it feels lodged under your upper lid, look down and roll your eye slowly; if it drifted to the right, look left. This slides the lens back towards the centre where you can reach it.

• 4.If it is still stuck, flip the upper lid by laying a cotton swab across the crease of your lid, looking down, then gently folding the lid back over the swab. It looks alarming, so ask a family member or friend to help. With the lid folded back you can usually see the lens and lift it off with a clean, wet fingertip.

Blink a few times between tries. Most lenses slide free within a minute or so once they are floating on fresh drops rather than gripping a dry eye.

When to see an eye doctor

Most stuck lenses come out at home. A few signs, though, mean it is time to stop and let a professional take over. As a general rule, see an eye doctor (an optometrist or ophthalmologist) promptly if:

• •the lens will not come out after a fair try of 20 to 30 minutes,

• •your eye is painful, very red or extremely sensitive to light,

• •your vision turns blurry or changes and does not clear once the lens is out,

• •you cannot tell whether the lens is still there and the discomfort keeps building.

Do not sleep with a lens you believe is trapped, and do not reach for tweezers or a fingernail — a scratched cornea hurts far more than a misplaced lens ever will. The American Academy of Ophthalmology advises scheduling a visit as soon as possible when a lens will not come out on its own. [1]

Will a stuck contact eventually come out on its own?

So what if you just leave it? It is a fair question when you are tired and the lens is being stubborn. Your eye is built to clear out what does not belong. When an eyelash or a speck of dust lands on it, your tear glands flush and you blink the intruder towards the corner of your eye. A shifted contact lens rides that same current, and your blinking and natural tears will often work it back into view, where you can slip it out. It cannot slide behind your eye while it waits — the conjunctiva still has that covered. [1]

That said, a lens is not dust, and leaving it wedged for 2 or 3 hours only invites more dryness and irritation. It is better to guide it out with a few drops than to wait it out.

A stuck lens is also a nudge to rethink your setup. If you reuse lenses past their schedule or fight dryness by mid-afternoon, try switching to fresh daily disposables. A clean, sterile lens every morning cuts down on the buildup and dry grip that make lenses stick. If a reusable lens tears or feels damaged while you wrestle it out, throw it away and open a new one, because a torn lens can scratch your eye. And keeping a bottle of those rewetting drops in your bag turns the next stuck lens into a quick fix, not a scare. When you are ready, you can shop the exact lenses your prescription calls for — with free shipping on every order — at Contacts Direct.

Sources

[1] American Academy of Ophthalmology (aao.org), "How do I get a contact lens out from the top of my eye?" — a contact lens can only go as far as the crease in the conjunctiva under the upper eyelid and cannot go behind the eye; to remove a lens stuck under the lid, wash hands and use sterile saline or artificial tears to float it out, and see an ophthalmologist as soon as possible if it will not come out.