You will be taught this by our staff, but you can use these guides as refreshers.

Please remember, if you still are having difficulty handling your lenses, don’t give up, simply phone and book in for another lesson.  This is covered by your initial fees.

To Insert Your Lenses

To avoid swapping lenses, choose which side that you will always start with regardless of whether you are inserting, removing or cleaning. Make sure you have left yourself plenty of time, so that you don’t feel rushed. Walkaway if you get frustrated and try again later (on a different day if necessary).

1. Place a plug in the sink just in case. You will need a mirror to help when you are first learning how to do this.
2. Clean and dry your hands making sure they are free of towel lint. If your fingers get too wet while inserting the lens, dry them on the back of your other hand, not the towel, to avoid introducing lint.
3. Remove the lens and rinse with the conditioning or soaking solution that your practitioner has advised. DO NOT USE TAPWATER TO RINSE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.
4. Place the lens on your pointer finger.
5. Use you opposite hand to reach over your head to firmly hold your top eyelid. Don’t be afraid to hold it pretty tight as you are unlikely to hurt yourself and this is one of the most important steps to get right.
6. While balancing the lens on the pointer finger, use the middle finger to pull the bottom eyelid down. Letting go of your eyelids will be the last thing you do so make sure you hang on tight.
7. Look into the mirror and slowly place the lens directly onto the cornea (the clear window in front of the pupil), making sure that you do not look away at the last moment or let your eyelids slip in the way. DO NOT let go of your eyelids straight away, once the lens is directly on the cornea, pull your pointer finger away making sure the lens is left behind.
8. SLOWLY release your eyelids and GENTLY close your eyes. The lens should be comfortable with your eyes shut (there may be some awareness of the lens when you blink – this is perfectly normal).
9. If the lens is not comfortable with your eyes shut, then remove the lens, rinse with the appropriate conditioning or soaking soluatio and re-insert. DO NOT USE TAPWATER TO RINSE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.

Alternative Methods

1. If you are able to stop yourself from blinking without holding your lids, open your eyes wide, pull the lower eyelid down with your middle finger or your opposite hand. Slowly and gently place the lens on the cornea with your pointer finger.
2. Or you can use the hand that is on the same side as the eye you’re placing a lens onto to hold the upper lid with the pointer and lower lid with the thumb. You use the pointer finger of the opposite hand to insert the lens.

VERY IMPORTANT: If at any stage you drop the lens onto any surface, you must rinse the lens thoroughly regardless of how clean the surface is. Failure to do this may result in an infection.
DO NOT USE TAPWATER TO RINSE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.

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Troubleshooting

1. The lens goes onto the white of the eye

Don’t panic, the lens cannot disappear behind your eye.

This has probably happened because you have rushed putting the lens on or without even realising it, you have looked away at the last moment or you may have simply let go of your eyelids too early.

Gently move the lens with your bottom eyelid onto the cornea, don’t press on the lens, instead gently nudge it on its edge with the lid. This may feel a little uncomfortable at first, alternatively you can remove the lens using the squeeze technique (your eye care practitioner will show you how to do this).

You may like to put a drop of lubricating drops onto the eye to help.

2. The lens keeps slipping off my finger

Your finger may be too wet – dry it on the back of your clean hand, not on a towel as this will introduce lint making the lens uncomfortable.

You may be accidentally bumping the lens on your eyelid – pull the eyelids further apart or hold them more firmly and make sure the fingers holding your lids and the eyelids themselves are dry

You may also like to place a mirror flat onto the table and lean over the table so your face is parallel with the tabletop to prevent the lens slipping down.