How to Get Comfortable Putting in Your Contact Lenses

While getting new contact lenses can be a great experience, it can also be stressful. Putting in contacts can cause anxiety until the process becomes more familiar. Fortunately, to help you get more comfortable with putting in your contact lenses, here are 3 tips:

1. Practice in front of a mirror.

To get used to putting in new contacts, you may want to practice in front of a mirror. By practicing in front of a mirror, you will be able to see exactly what you are doing. Fortunately, once you get used to putting in your contacts, you will likely be able to put them in easily without the use of a mirror.

When putting in your contacts with or without a mirror, here are the steps you need to follow:

• 1.Thoroughly wash your hands with soap and water, and completely dry with a clean towel.
• 2.Rinse your lenses with the appropriate solution. However, if you are using daily disposable lenses, you just need to remove them from the packages.
• 3.Carefully place the contact lens on the tip of your index finger. You also need to check the inside-out marker to ensure that the lens is properly oriented. (It is recommended to always start with the right eye to avoid getting your lenses mixed up.)
• 4.Use your free hand to hold your upper eyelid to prevent blinking.
• 5.Use the other fingers of your applying hand to pull down the lower eyelid.
• 6.Look up and gently ease the lens onto the lower part of your eye.
• 7.Carefully release your eyelid and close your eye.
• 8.Centre the lens by blinking a few times.

If you feel uncomfortable after applying a lens, you should remove it. Once removed, you can inspect it for debris or damage. If it is not damaged, all you need to do is rinse with the appropriate solution and reapply.

2. Ask a friend to help.

If you are too nervous to put on your contact lenses for the first few times, you can ask a more experienced friend to help. If your friend wears contact lenses as well, they will be able to show you how to effectively put on contacts with more ease and less stress.

3. Speak to your optician.

It is important to know that getting used to putting in contacts will take time, and especially since many people have a fear of having anything close or on their eyes. For the first while, it may take multiple attempts to put in a contact lens and the experience can become very frustrating. However, just keep calm and be persistent, and you will have better luck.

If you still have trouble with putting in contact lenses, you can speak to your optician. Your optician will be able to give you helpful instructions and even show you how to properly put in your lens. Even if you did not buy the lens directly from your optician but an online source, such as Lenstore.co.uk, you can still get help. However, you will need to make an appointment, so some people may not find the option to be very convenient.

With time and patience, you can soon insert and remove your contact lenses within a matter of seconds.

Daniel Peterson works in a optometrist office. He loves to write about his best tips for healthier eyesight on consumer blogs.