How To Remove Your Contact Lenses - Vision Express

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Book appointmentHomeContact lensesHow to use contact lensesHow to remove contact lenses

 

How to remove your contact lenses

If you’re unsure how to safely and easily remove your contact lenses, you can see our guide below. Don’t forget to wash and dry your hands thoroughly with a fluff free towel before handling your contact lenses.

Removing daily disposable and reusable contact lenses

• Starting with your right eye, look straight ahead into the mirror and check the lens is still covering the pupil area of your eye.
• With your left hand use the middle finger to pull your lower lid down, again place your finger as close to your eyelashes as possible.
• Lower your chin slightly and look up into the mirror, bring your right index finger towards the lens. Press gently but firmly onto the surface of the lens and slide the lens down gently to the white part of your eye.
• Using the fleshy parts of your thumb and index finger bring the edges of the contact lens together in a gentle but firm squeezing movement. You can also move it downwards and then lift it from your lower lid.
• Once you have removed your contact lenses, if you wear daily disposables please throw them in the bin, do not flush them down the toilet.

How to remove gas permeable contact lenses

• There are two effective ways you can remove gas permeable contact lenses.
• The first is to open both eyes as wide as possible and place your forefinger in the outside corner of your eye - where the top and bottom eyelids meet. Firmly pull your eyelids horizontally towards your ear, but not up or down. Blink! The lens will pop out either onto your lashes, the table, or your hand if you cup it under your eye.
• The other method is to place your forefingers of each hand on the top and bottom lids at 12 and 6 o’clock positions, as close to the edge as possible. Hold eyelids apart and apply even pressure to the top and bottom of the contact lens edge. Bring the eyelids together to lift the contact lens from the surface of the eye.

For more advice about your contact lenses, you can book an eye test or talk to us in store.

You can also take a look at our other guides:

How to put in your contact lenses

Your optician will show you how to insert your contact lenses during your initial assessment, but here's our guide if you're still unsure.

• Find out more

How to clean your contact lenses

If you have reusable contact lenses, you'll need to take good care of them to keep the lenses in good condition and protect your eyes.

• Find out more

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