A contact lens cannot normally travel behind your eyeball. A membrane called the conjunctiva lines the inside of your eyelids. At the back of the lids, the conjunctiva folds forward and covers the white of your eye. This fold forms a closed pocket with no opening to the back of your eye.
A lens has nowhere to go past this pocket. When a lens seems to vanish, the lens sits in one of three places:
- Under your upper eyelid
- Folded in the outer or inner corner of your eye
- Already out of your eye, on your face, clothes, or the floor
Where Are Contacts Stuck in the Eyes?
Most of the time, a contact lens lost in eye tissue sits under the upper eyelid. The space under the upper lid runs deeper than the space under the lower lid. Eye doctors call this space the upper fornix.
A rub, a bump, or a hard blink knocks a soft lens off your cornea. The lens folds in half and slides up under the lid. You feel something in your eye, but you see nothing in the mirror.
Can Lens Stay Hidden for Years?
Rarely, a lens stays hidden in the upper fornix for a long time. In one case report, a woman lost a soft lens and resumed normal lens wear. Thirteen years later, the lens showed up as a lump in her upper eyelid, mistaken at first for a chalazion.
In another case, surgeons found five soft lenses in one patient’s upper fornix. The patient had no symptoms and remembered losing lenses years earlier.
These cases are rare. They carry one clear lesson: if you lose a lens and never find it, tell your eye doctor. Your doctor flips the upper eyelid, sometimes twice, to check the fornix.
How to Remove a Stuck Contact
Start with the same three steps for every stuck soft lens:
- Wash your hands with soap and water. Dry them with a lint-free towel.
- Look in a mirror in good light.
- Add sterile saline or rewetting drops labeled for contact lenses.
Then follow the steps for your situation.
Dry Contact Stuck to Eye
The lens feels glued to the center of your cornea. Sleep, long wear days, and dry air cause this problem.
- Add 3 to 4 drops of sterile saline or rewetting drops.
- Close your eye and wait 1 to 2 minutes.
- Blink several times.
- Massage your closed upper eyelid in small circles.
- Repeat until the lens moves freely, then slide the lens down onto the white of your eye and pinch the lens out.
Never pull a dry lens off your cornea. Forcing it scrapes surface cells and causes a corneal abrasion. A stuck lens sometimes takes 10 to 15 minutes to loosen.
Contact Stuck Under Eyelid
When you feel the lens but see nothing on your cornea, the lens has moved under a lid.
- Look in the direction opposite the lens. For a lens under the upper lid, look down. For a lens near the outer corner, look toward your nose.
- Add drops and blink.
- Massage the eyelid over the lens, moving toward the center of your eye.
- Once the lens appears, slide the lens onto the white of your eye and remove the lens.
If the lens stays hidden, you may gently lift or flip the upper eyelid to look for it. If you cannot retrieve the lens or your eye remains irritated, see an eye doctor. Fold the lid up over the swab. Check the underside of the lid for the lens. Release the lid when you finish.
Folded Contact Lens in Eye
A folded lens in the corner of your eye feels like a sharp edge. Add drops, then slide the fold toward the corner with a fingertip. Pinch the lens out. Soak the folded lens in fresh contact lens solution and check the shape before you wear the lens again.
Torn Contact Lens in Eye
A torn lens leaves small pieces behind. Remove the large piece first. Then flush your eye with sterile saline to move small pieces to the corner.
Lay every piece on your fingertip and fit the pieces together. A missing section means a fragment is still in your eye. See an eye doctor if you notice a gap or keep feeling something in your eye. Throw the torn lens away.
What Happens if an RGP Lens is Stuck
Rigid gas permeable lenses stick by suction, not by drying. Do not massage your eyelid over a rigid lens stuck on your eye. Pressure on a hard lens scratches your cornea.
- Wash your hands and add drops.
- Find the lens edge in the mirror.
- Press gently on your eyelid right outside the lens edge to break the suction.
- Once the lens moves, slide the lens off your cornea onto the white of your eye.
A contact lens plunger, a small suction cup, can help remove some RGP lenses. Use the plunger only as directed by your eye doctor. Never use a plunger on the white of your eye or on soft lenses.
Habits to Stay Away From
- Do not use tweezers, fingernails, or any tool other than a plunger for RGP lenses.
- Do not rub your eye hard. Rubbing pushes the lens farther under the lid.
- Do not use tap water, as it carries Acanthamoeba.
- Do not use redness-relief drops. They hide symptoms.
- Do not put in a new lens until you find the old one.
Eye Irritation After Removing Contacts
Mild irritation after removal usually fades within a few hours. Wear your glasses instead for the rest of the day to give your cornea time to recover.
See an eye doctor the same day if you notice:
- Pain that continues after lens removal
- A scratchy feeling like sand in your eye
- Redness growing worse
- Blurry vision lasting after removal
- Sensitivity to light
- Discharge or signs of infection
Also see your eye doctor if you still feel a lens after 30 minutes of trying, or if you never find a lost lens. An eye doctor checks the upper fornix with a slit lamp and removes a trapped lens in minutes.
How to Prevent a Contact Lens Stuck in Eye
- Remove lenses before sleep and naps.
- Stick to your prescribed wear time.
- Use rewetting drops on dry days and during long screen sessions.
- Replace lenses on schedule. Old lenses dry out and tear more easily.
- Avoid rubbing your eyes while wearing lenses.
- Keep a mirror, drops, and a lens case with you when you travel.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a contact lens stuck in eye tissue an emergency?
Usually not. Most stuck lenses come out at home with drops, blinking, and gentle massage. Call an eye doctor the same day for pain, blurred vision, light sensitivity, or a lens you fail to find.
How long does a stuck contact stay in your eye?
A dry, stuck soft lens may loosen after you add appropriate rewetting drops and allow time for the lens to rehydrate. A lens hidden under the upper eyelid sometimes stays for years without symptoms. Tell your eye doctor about any lens you never found.
Does a contact lens dissolve in your eye?
No. Contact lenses do not dissolve. A lost lens stays intact until you or your eye doctor removes the lens.
Is sleeping with a stuck contact safe?
No. Sleeping with any lens in your eye raises your risk of infection. Keep working to remove the lens, or see an eye doctor before bed.
Why does my eye hurt after I removed a stuck contact?
A dry lens can scrape surface cells from your cornea during removal. This scratch, called a corneal abrasion, causes pain, tearing, and light sensitivity. See an eye doctor if the pain continues after removal.
Replace your Lost or Torn Lens Now!
A torn or lost lens needs a fresh replacement from the same brand and prescription. When you need a new supply, purchase contact lenses with your valid prescription at contactlensmarketplace.com.
