tips for getting in contacts?

Question

so my doctor told me i had to put them in and take them out 3 times before i can take them home, so shes sure im responsible or not. and i couldnt take them out and it took me like 30 minutes and she said i had to come back sunday to see if i can do it cuz i was taking alot of time and there was an appointment after me, that might have sounded rude but she said it nicely im just trying to make this short lol, i also had long nails so it was hard to hold, i think that was the only problem though. so are there any tips you can give me on putting in and taking out contacts for the first time?

Answer 1

When you have long nails, it can make it very difficult to take out lenses. When I'm doing instructionals on patients with the long dagger-like nails, I always cringe.

My tip to you, like so many others have posted, would be to get rid of the nails, at least until you've had the lenses a while and are comfortable handling the lenses.

I don't wear contacts myself. I've tried and my eyes are just too darn dry and I always had a really hard time getting them out because they stick to my eyes. It was like trying to peel wallpaper off. It was awful, so I gave up. I could get them in without a problem and if my eyes weren't so dry, I could get them out. If you find that your eyes seem to be dry when taking the contacts out, try putting in some re-wetting drops. The lenses come out a lot easier when your eyes are moist.

But, aside from that, I suspect that the nails are the main problem. You'll have to decide which you want more - the contacts, or the nails.

Also, about them telling you that you'll have to come back...I've had to do that countless times. In the office I work in, we block off an hour for the instructional appointment. If its going to run longer, we have them call it quits and reschedule to come in. This is for several reasons:

1. After an hour of poking at your eyes, your eyes get red and irritated so its not good to keep doing it for hours on end. We'd have people sit there poking all darn day if we let them. Once the eyes get irritated, then when you do get the lenses in, they hurt.

2. After an hour, typically, the patient has become completely frustrated and flustered. Its best to just end it then because once they loose concentration, they usually aren't going to get it in anyway.

3. An instructional is normally a scheduled appointment and requires either the doctor, or most likely one of the opticians in the office to sit there with you and it isn't practical to have someone tied up for an unspecified amount of time. There are other patients that need to be taken care of so that is why most offices will block off a certain amount of time for that sort of thing. It's not to be rude, but honestly, it isn't practical at all to just let someone sit there for 2 or 3 hours, trying to get contacts in. We'll let them come back as many times as they want to until they either get them in, or give up. But we must set some type of limit on how long you can sit there and try.

Answer 2

the nails are the first problem and they could put a scratch or tear on the eye, but with the left eye, hold the eye open with index finger on the op and the thumb on the bottom and insert the contact with right index finger.....
for the right eye, hold the eye open with the index on the top and thumb on the bottom and insert with the left index.
if u blink, try and dont look at the contact u can look up and as long as the eye catch it when u look down it will fall into place

but the more and more u take them in and out the easier it will become and u will discover ways that fit u !
good luck!!!

Answer 3

People with long nails should not try to put in or remove contacts. I had to have mine cut back . Your nails get in the way of your nose when trying to put the lens in, You could remove your nose and then you would have no problem.
Your Dr is concerned on weather you can deal with putting them in and taking them out. Your Nails have to Go.
Before removing your lens you should use a rewetting solution to help removing them better. Your doctor should know this.
I wore contacts for 15 years had surgery about three years ago. Now I don't have to remove anything.

Get rid of the nails and you will have no more problems

Answer 4

Well I've been wearin contacts for about a year now. My 1st time wuz like that 2. I almost got sent home. But anywayz now I can get a pair in about a minute. I start by pulling down my lower eyelid. Next I balance my contact on my index finger and simply slide it up until it gets over my pupil. I position it and wait a second till it sticks. I blink and close my eyez and press down 2 make sure it stays. Itz jus that simple 4 meh now. Hopefully that helpz!!! Good luck with that!

Answer 5

looks like you've already gotten a lot of good tips so i don't know if this will help but im tellin ya anyways! haha I've went through the same thing (took me about 15-20mins to get it right). make sure your hands are completely clean. DEFINITELY cut your nails wen my nails are cut its hard for me to put them in too. plus ur nails are cleaner and more sanitary for your lenses when they are cut.
put contact on index finger.
put a little bit of solution on it
open up eye with the opposite hand of the hand that has the contact
relax
open ur eyes very wide while staring into the mirror in one direction
put the contacts right on your eye slowly. wait a little bit, look around, blink. if contact falls out, repeat again till you get it! it will take a while, trust me it used to take me 5 mins every morning now its like 1 min lol
taking it out-make sure hands are clean
open up eyes with opposite hand
look in one direction in the mirror, concentrate
take your indexand thumb, gently pinch the contact out of your eye. slide the contact a little to the white part of your eye if you want. VOILA!!! =) make sure you soak those babies. if you fail, try again! patience. it took me longer to take them out than to put them in!!!

Answer 6

I had long nails to. I cut the nails on my
thumbs, and pointer fingers so they were
very short.
This helped alot. You can feel the Contact
on the Eye better.

Answer 7

this assumes you are right handed

Putting in:
-wash your contacts, dry your index finger of your right hand, and put the contact on that finger (make sure the contact is shaped like a bowl, so its not inside out)
-take your left hand and pull up your upper eyelid with your middle finger and ring finger
-pull down your lower lid with the ring finger of your right hand (don't worry, the contact wont move off your index finger if you dried it first)
-look up (not moving your head up, just rolling your eye)
-place the contact on your eyeball (not directly on the pupil) and use your finger to move the contact into place
-gently release your eyelids and blink (not rapidly)
-you should have your contact nicely in place :)

Taking out
--take your left hand and pull up your upper eyelid with your middle finger and ring finger
-pull down your lower lid with the ring finger of your right hand
-take your index finger and put it on the contact and gently slide the contact to theright corner of your eye
-bring your thumb towards your index finger to pick up your contact

this should work fairly well, and dont be scared to bring your fingers near your eyes (maybe you need to practice bring your finger directly on your eye, if thats the scary part or something). i have long nails too, just try to keep the surface of your finger tips on your eyes and contacts and it should be okay. if necesary, you may want to file down your nails a bit until you get used to putting in/taking out contacts.

hope all works for you :)

Answer 8

Cut your nails.