Contact lens advice

Pinch and pull not working?

I remember something similar when I started wearing lenses about 8000 years ago. It took a bit of time to get the knack but it took a fair while of having to stop, take a deep breath and try again. You might find that making your fingers a bit wetter or a bit drier helps a bit

Are you using your eyelids to squeeze them out or sticking your fingers in your eyes? I do the former which I find easier (and a bit more hygenic) than the latter.

Dry fingers pinch and pull

Maybe try some eye drops before you try and remove the lens.

Sounds like your eye is quite dry and the lens is a bit stuck

If the eye is dry, it's horrific.

I can't do the pinch to take them out, I have to use a mirror. I pull my lower eyelid down, then watch in the mirror as I slide the lens down and force it to bunch up against the corner between eyeball and lid, then I can hook them out.

As MartynS says, some eye drops may help.

Also try putting your dry finger on the lens then move it about.

Then redry your hands before attempting to remove it.

If it all fails after a few attempts, stop, have a brew, then try again.

I find looking up, sliding them down and then pinch & pull works for me. They're definitely harder to get out if they're dry!

I have also recently started wearing contacts & have similar issue with my left eye (probably as I'm right handed).

Having more success with a technique like defblade describes, but I don't use the tip of my finger.. I try to use further down my finger & then roll /drag my finger down across the lens (to give more contact) & force it down onto my lower lid so I can pick it off.

If I'm dehydrated after exercise, they don't want to come out, so I tend to wait an hour or two,  hydrate and/or use eye drops or wet fingers.

I have also recently started wearing contacts & have similar issue with my left eye (probably as I’m right handed).

I use my right hand for both eyes.

I’ve been a long time monthly contact wearer. Never an issue getting them out. About a month ago, I went for an eye test for which I wore my glasses, and as it was time for a new pair, I needed to select some new frames. They gave me a pair of disposable contacts to wear so I could actually see myself in the mirror (I am a -5 prescription ) Must have been wearing them for all of 15 minutes. Could not get them out, was horrible. The daily disposable ones are made of a different stuff. could be worth switching to monthly lenses if you wear them a lot?

I just put my finger on the lens and slide it sideways.

I find that  although I put my lenses in both eyes using my right hand I have to use my left hand to take my left lens out…

I have to use left hand on left eye and right on right to both put in and take out my lenses.
I also make sure to slide them around on the eye beforehand to make sure they aren’t stuck as I once took one out when my eye was dry and my eye was pretty sore after that.
If you are getting dry eyes while using lenses though maybe look at getting a different lens. Some are better than others. I used to use 1 day Accuvue moist dailies and I could only wear them for a few hours before my eyes would start getting dry. I now use Alcon Dailies total 1 (as recommended by my optician) and can wear them all day with no issues at all.

+1 for try different lenses. I haven’t found a daily lens that I get on with. I use a silicone hydrogel monthly disposable, they are quite different to dailies - thicker, easier to handle, don’t dry out, way more comfortable for me.

I just put my finger on the lens and slide it sideways.

This - slide it to the outside of your eye, dislodges it enough to make the pinchpull easy.

I've just done a very brief trial of contacts, I say brief because there's no way I'm putting myself through that removal on a daily basis even if it is sporadic. The lady at specsavers did think that my IBD medication is one which the side effect is eye drying and when she measured it my reflex was very short. Needless to say I almost had a melt down removing them, took maybe 30 goes in each eye. Even when I did manged to pinch them and felt them pinching they still wouldn't sodding move and release. I couldn't get them to move around in my eye at all, vile things!!!

Maybe try some eye drops before you try and remove the lens.

Top tip, if you're a multi-purpose solution user for cleaning and storage this can also be good source for eye-drops. Read the label first and don't touch the bottle nozzle on your skin or eyeball.

vile things

Yeah, all us daily users think that…

Thanks for all the hints/advice folks, loads of things for me to try out.

What eye drops are you guys using with daily disposable lenses??

I slide mine down the eye, carefully in a mirror with clean hands, until it wrinkles a bit. Can then pinch and pull it out super easily.

The "normal" pinch & pull straight from the eye as recommended never works for me - always feels like I'm gonna pull my cornea off!

Weirdly I always struggle putting my left contact in, but never the right one. If I do it first or second it doesn't matter, it always ends up stuck to my finger a few times, then I get a bit of fluff on it and it hurts like hell putting it back in, requiring a rinse and re-start. Right hand side one goes in straight away.

Weirdly I always struggle putting my left contact in, but never the right one. If I do it first or second it doesn’t matter, it always ends up stuck to my finger a few times, then I get a bit of fluff on it and it hurts like hell putting it back in, requiring a rinse and re-start. Right hand side one goes in straight away.

YES. Many years of practice and this still happens to me. I feel seen (albeit blurily).