Signs a Contact Lens is Stuck in Your Eye (And How to Find And Remove It)

Co-authored by David Felsted, DO and Amber Crain

Last Updated: November 3, 2024 Fact Checked

Maybe your eyes were feeling dry, or you rubbed them a little too vigorously, and now your contact lens has seemingly disappeared. How can you tell if the lens is still in your eye and how do you find it? Take a deep breath—we've got you! Rest assured, it's 100% impossible for a contact lens to get lost in your eye, so put that out of your mind. Scroll down to learn what symptoms indicate a stuck contact lens, as well as how to locate and remove your lens safely.

Things You Should Know

Signs of a stuck contact lens include redness, irritation, and a burning sensation. Close your eye and press on the lids gently to feel for the lens.
Add 3-4 drops of contact lens rewetting drops to your eye, close it, and gently massage the area to get the contact moving again.
Put a clean cotton swab against your lash line and tilt your head back (for the bottom eyelid) or forward (for the top). When the lid flips, grab the contact.

Section 1 of 5:

Can a contact lens get lost in or behind your eyeball?

Download Article

A contact lens can move around the front of your eye but not behind it. It’s super common for a contact lens to drift off-center and get stuck in the corner or under an eyelid. The lens can’t actually move behind your eye or get permanently stuck in there, though! If that lens is still in your eye, you can get it out—we promise.^{[1]
X
Research source}
- A transparent membrane called the conjunctiva covers and protects the whites of your eyeballs. Your contact lens can't bypass this membrane.^{[2]
  X
  Trustworthy Source
  
  American Academy of Opthamologists
  Professional medical organization focused on advocating for public health and supporting sight-related research
  
  Go to source}

Section 2 of 5:

Signs a Contact Lens is Still in Your Eye

Download Article

Burning, redness, and eye irritation can indicate a stuck contact lens. If you've just rubbed your eyes or tried to remove a contact lens and it’s nowhere to be found, it can be a little unnerving! Don’t panic, though—we're here to help you. Other common symptoms of a stuck contact lens can include:
- A sharp or scratching pain
- Difficulty opening the eye
- Extreme watering
- A persistent feeling that something is lodged in your eye^{[3]
  X
  Trustworthy Source
  
  Cleveland Clinic
  Educational website from one of the world's leading hospitals
  
  Go to source}

Section 3 of 5:

How to Locate and Remove a Stuck Contact Lens

Download Article

Before you start touching your eye area, it’s really important to remove any germs or debris from your hands. If you accidentally transfer bacteria or grit from your hands to your contacts, you may end up infecting or scratching your eyeball—ouch!^{[4]
X
Trustworthy Source

American Academy of Opthamologists
Professional medical organization focused on advocating for public health and supporting sight-related research

Go to source}
2
Relax your eye and touch the eyelid to feel for the contact. Close your eye and gently press your clean fingertips to your top and bottom eyelids. Typically, you’ll be able to feel the shape of the contact underneath your fingers, even through the skin of your eyelid.^{[5]
X
Research source}
- If you don't feel the lens with your fingers, don't worry! That can happen sometimes.
3
Add 3-4 drops of contact lens rewetting drops to your eye. After you apply the drops, close your eye and gently massage the area to get the contact moving around again. Open your eye to see if the lens has moved into a place where you can easily get it. Blinking a few times in quick succession can also help.
- If you don’t have contact lens rewetting drops, use contact lens saline solution. Avoid using water, though! Non-sterile water from the tap (and other water sources) may have infection-causing microorganisms in it.^{[6]
  X
  Trustworthy Source
  
  US Food and Drug Administration
  U.S. government agency responsible for promoting public health
  
  Go to source}
4
Look in the opposite direction of where the lens is stuck. For example, if your contact lens appears to be (or feels like it is) stuck on the right side of your eyeball, move your eye to the left side and blink a few times to loosen it. This movement is typically enough to shift the lens back to the center of your eye.^{[7]
X
Research source}
- If the contact is still being stubborn, apply a few more rewetting drops and repeat the movement.
5
Flip your eyelid inside out and nudge the contact back into place. If the contact is stuck under your top or bottom eyelid and refuses to budge, look downward into a mirror and place a clean cotton swab against your lash line. Slowly tip your head backward (for the bottom eyelid) or forward (for the top eyelid) to turn the eyelid inside out. Use your free hand to grab the edge of the contact.^{[8]
X
Research source}
- If this feels uncomfortable or awkward, get someone to hold the swab and help you out.

Section 4 of 5:

What if I still can’t find the contact in my eye?

Download Article

If you still can’t find it, your contact lens probably isn’t in your eye. If you still can’t locate the contact after going through the removal steps several times, it’s highly likely that the lens fell out of your eye. In fact, it's probably on a nearby countertop or possibly even the ground, so gently feel around on nearby surfaces until you find your contact lens.^{[9]
X
Trustworthy Source

Cleveland Clinic
Educational website from one of the world's leading hospitals

Go to source}
- Mild irritation can sometimes make it feel like there's something stuck in your eye, even when there's not.
- If you're still worried or need additional peace of mind, make an appointment with your eye doctor.

Section 5 of 5:

Causes and Prevention Tips

Download Article

A contact lens usually gets stuck in your eye because of dryness. Dry eyes can be caused by a number of issues, of course, but if you're a contact lens wearer, the dryness is probably directly related to the way you clean or care for your contact lenses. To prevent stuck contacts in the future, try these tips:
- Follow your eye doctor’s recommendations for how long to wear your lenses. For example, if you have daily wear lenses, take them out every day.
- Be gentle when you rub your eyes and remove eye makeup carefully.
- Avoid sleeping in your contacts. Your eyes need time to rest and breathe between wearings.
- Clean and store contacts in fresh saline solution. It can be tempting to pop lenses back in their case with last night’s solution, but try to avoid doing this.
- Get a professional vision checkup and contact lens fitting every year.^{[10]
  X
  Research source}

Expert Q&A

Search

Add New Question

Question

Why do some people experience red eyes and how can they clear them?

Kerry Assil, MD
Board Certified Ophthalmologist
Dr. Kerry Assil is a board certified Ophthalmologist and the Medical Director and CEO of Assil Eye Institute (AEI), an ophthalmology practice in Los Angeles, California. With over 25 years of experience and as one of the world's foremost experts in eye surgery, Dr. Assil has trained 14,000+ physicians in refractive and cataract surgery, performed 70,000+ eye surgeries, and authored over 100 textbooks, chapters, and articles on refractive and cataract surgery. He's served as the Distinguished Professor lecturer at Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Duke, Baylor, Tokyo, and UCLA among others. He has served on the advisory boards of 20+ ophthalmic device, pharmaceutical, and scientific companies and has appeared in the media as an authority on advances in vision-restoring surgeries and refractive surgery. Dr. Assil continues to make significant advances in his field with numerous inventions and introductions of state-of-the-art technologies.

Kerry Assil, MD

Board Certified Ophthalmologist

Expert Answer

Red eyes just mean that the outer layer of the eye is inflamed. It could be inflamed because there's serious inflammation deeper inside the eye, such as certain types of immune diseases that can affect the eyes. They could be red because of hormonal diseases, such as thyroid disease that causes inflammation of the muscles around the eye. They could be red simply because you stayed up too late the night before and didn't get enough sleep, or your eyelids don't close all the way when you sleep at night, or you don't drink enough water, or you had too much caffeine. The specific root cause will determine what the treatment should be. For people who are feeling a bit of garden-variety red eye, the best thing to do is to get artificial teardrops over the counter that are preservative free. You can use those one or two times a day. If you're using it more than a couple of times a day, then there's something more significant going on that warrants being examined.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 2 Helpful 5