If you’ve never worn contacts, placing a lens directly on your eye may sound alarming at first. However, for those of us who wear contacts regularly, the process is just another part of our routine.

Compared with glasses, contacts offer a convenient and discrete alternative that disappears onto your face, providing the same vision-enhancing benefits without the bulk of framed lenses.

When done correctly, putting them on and taking them off is a simple and easy process. Learning how is just like tying your shoes—once you know, doing it the right way becomes second nature.

As someone new to contact lenses, it can be helpful to learn what you should expect and how you can get the most out of your eyewear.

To acquaint you with the process, we’ll go over what contact lenses are, why you might consider wearing them, and (most importantly) how to properly put them on and take them off.

A person has a contact lens on their finger which they are about to put into their eye

What Are Contacts?

Contact lenses are thin corrective devices worn directly on the eye’s cornea. Like eyeglasses, contacts focus light into the eye to correct refractive errors in the cornea, allowing you to see more clearly. 

Contact lenses are safe and effective at correcting:

  • Nearsightedness (myopia)
  • Farsightedness (hyperopia)
  • Distorted Vision (astigmatism)

While we often don’t distinguish between them, there are two primary types of contact lenses:

  • Soft Lenses (flexible material—the most common type)
  • Gas-Permeable Lenses (rigid material)

Among soft lenses, there are also several choices, including:

  • Daily Disposables 
  • Two Week or Monthly Disposables
  • Bifocal Contact Lenses (helpful for reading and nearsightedness)
  • Toric Lenses (for astigmatism)

 

With all of these choices, it can be hard to know which to choose from or if they offer more benefits than traditional glasses.

In one had a person hold a pair of eyeglasses, in the other the person holds the container for contact lenses

What Are the Pros and Cons of Contacts

Compared with glasses, contacts integrate seamlessly into your face. Once attached, they move with your eye, offering the same vision enhancement no matter where you look. For those of us who are constantly on the move, not having your sight obscured by the edge of your frames is a major benefit. 

Contacts also don’t get wet in the rain or fog in the cold, two of the major complaints often expressed by those who wear glasses.

While there are many perks to wearing contacts, they do come with responsibilities that may not appeal to everyone.

The cons for contact wearers are:

  • Putting them in and taking them out
  • Taking care of the contacts

Not only does wearing contacts take some practice, but the lenses also require quite a bit of care. For example, if you don’t wash your hands or clean your contacts well, you put yourself at risk of developing an eye infection.

Unfortunately, one of the major downsides of contacts is that not everyone can wear them. You may not be a candidate for contacts if you have:

  • A very dirty or dusty work environment
  • Dry eyes
  • Frequent eye infections
  • Problems wearing or caring for the lenses
  • Severe allergies

However, the biggest complaint we hear about contacts is that putting them in can be frustrating, especially for new contact wearers.

A woman demonstrates how to put in contacts

What’s the Easiest Way to Put in Contacts?

For many people, putting in contacts can be daunting. However, the process is simpler than you might think. 

  1. Wash and dry your hands, ensuring your contacts are clean
  2. Place the lens facing downward on the index finger of your dominant hand
  3. Gently open the eyelid with the other index finger and push down the lower lid with your thumb
  4. Move the contact lens toward the open eye, looking up to allow the lens to touch the eye
  5. Close your eyes and let the lens settle in

(Reverse the process to remove the lens)

Flinching or dropping the lens are two annoying things that can happen during this process. Make sure the contact lens isn’t turned inside out when you try to put it in. To check, look at the contact lens on your finger. It should be a perfectly formed cup, with the edges upright. 

With flexible lenses, you can also use the “taco test” to determine if the lens is facing the right direction:

  • Put the contact on the end of your finger 
  • Pinch it in half so it looks like a taco
  • The edge of the contact should look like the shape of a taco shell, not a soup spoon

New contacts also have tiny markings on them to help you figure out which face is right side up. Put the lens on your finger and hold it to a bright light, looking for the numbers 1, 2, and 3. If you can read them in the correct order, the lens is facing the right direction. If the numbers are in reverse, the contact is inside out.

Standing in front of a mirror, a woman used her reflection to put in contacts

More Tips for Putting in Contact Lenses

Learning how to put in contact lenses can be challenging, especially for those who are uncomfortable with touching their eyes. Not to worry—we’ve compiled some tips that will help you incorporate the process into your daily routine.

Start by practicing eye touches before you put in your contact lenses. Instead of starting by trying to wrangle a lens into your eye, just do a dry run for several days. Wash and dry your hand and use your clean index finger to practice touching your eyes. Start with your eyelids and eyelashes and work your way up to touching the whites of your eye. The idea is to desensitize yourself to the experience of having something touch your eye without squinting the eye shut or turning away. 

You can also practice holding open your eye, just like you do when you insert a contact. Again, with clean hands, use your index finger to lift the top lid and your thumb to hold open the bottom lid. Then take your other index finger and move it toward the cornea of your open eye. This practice will develop muscle memory that will make it easier when you insert the contact.

However, the most useful tip is to avoid looking at your index finger as it approaches your eye and instead look in the mirror. Get close to the mirror and focus on the image and not the finger. As the finger gets close, look up and practice touching the white part of your eye. You’ll do the same process when the contact lens is on your index finger.  

Are Contact Lenses Right for You?

At Bayhead Eye Centre, our team of vision specialists is here to help you transition to wearing contact lenses. Request an appointment with us today to find out if contacts are right for you.