The stand does the holding
With two hands, one hand holds the lens and the other holds your lids. With one hand, something else has to hold the lens. That’s what an insertion stand does: it holds the inserter upright with the filled lens on top, so your free hand can hold your lids open while you lower your eye onto the lens.
Wearers recovering from a broken wrist, shoulder surgery, a stroke, or a hand injury describe the stand as what made it possible. A lighted stand, with a small light under a see-through inserter, helps you aim, because you look straight down into the light and center your eye on it. See inserters and removers for the options.
One-handed insertion, step by step
Your own fitter’s instructions come first. This is how wearers commonly adapt the usual routine:
- Set up seated at a table, over a clean towel, with the stand in front of you at a height where your face can be parallel to the table.
- Wash and dry your hand completely. See what hand soap to use.
- Load the lens first. Put the lens on the inserter, set it in the stand, and fill it to the brim with fresh saline. Some wearers find it easier to fill with the lens already in the stand.
- Hold your lids with one hand. A common grip is the thumb on the lower lid and the index or middle finger on the upper lid, both at the lash line. Practice opening wide before you try with the lens.
- Lower your eye straight down onto the lens, looking into the center, until you feel the fluid touch. Pause, then let go of the lids and lift your head straight up.
- Check for bubbles and comfort, as you normally would.
Bracing helps. If your surgeon allows it, resting the forearm of the injured arm on the table can sometimes let those fingers help hold the lower lid.
One-handed removal
Many wearers find removal easier than insertion with one hand. With a removal plunger, you hold it in your free hand and use it the way your fitter taught you, usually touching it to the lower part of the lens and lifting the lens out. If you use a lid technique instead, ask your fitter whether it works one-handed for you, and ask them to watch you try. See how to remove a scleral lens.
Cleaning, drops, and the rest of the routine
Wearers often say the lens itself is manageable and the rest is the real challenge:
- Rub cleaning needs a palm and a fingertip. See the FAQ below for workarounds, or ask a helper.
- Opening vials and bottles one-handed is fiddly. A non-slip mat helps hold a vial still while you twist the top off. Open each vial only when you’re about to use it; an opened vial is not sterile.
- Drops are hard one-handed. Ask your doctor or pharmacist about a drop aid.
- Hygiene doesn’t get a break. Fresh solution every night, no topping up, and never any water on the lens or tools.[2]
A helper or glasses
A trained helper is a good option, not a last resort. Caregivers insert and remove scleral lenses for family members every day. The safest way is for your helper to be shown by your fitter. See helping someone else with their lenses.
Glasses are also a good option. Some wearers simply waited until their hand healed. If your vision with glasses is poor, ask your fitter whether a short break is safe for your eye condition and how to manage it. The FDA advises every lens wearer to keep a backup pair of glasses with a current prescription.[1]
If surgery is planned
- Practice beforehand with your non-dominant hand, using a stand, while you still have both hands as backup.
- Buy or make a stand before the surgery date.
- Ask your surgeon what hand and arm movement is allowed afterward, and whether a cast can leave fingers free.
- Line up a helper for the first few days, and get them trained.
- Tell your fitter so they can check your technique and suggest tools.
What wearers say
- It gets easier. People who stuck with a stand describe the first attempts as slow and frustrating, then improving steadily over days to weeks.
- One eye is often harder. The side where your hand has to cross your face, or where the nose is in the way, can take much longer.
- Know when to stop. Wearers who kept trying for a long time sometimes ended up with sore, red eyes. A break, or glasses for the day, is often the faster route.
What to ask your fitter
- Which stand or inserter suits me while I only have one hand?
- Can you watch me try one-handed insertion and removal?
- Is it OK to wear one lens if I can only manage one?
- Is there a simpler cleaning routine I can use while I recover?
- Is a break from lenses safe for my eyes, and for how long?
Living with ongoing hand problems rather than a temporary injury? See arthritis and limited dexterity and shaky hands.
Common questions
I can get one lens in but not the other. Should I wear just one?
Ask your fitter. Some people manage fine with one lens for a short time; for others, the mismatch between eyes is uncomfortable or unsafe for driving. Wearers often find one eye is much harder one-handed, especially on the side where the nose gets in the way. Keep practicing with the stand, and use glasses on days the second eye won't cooperate.
Can my surgeon or orthopedist help?
Sometimes. Wearers have asked for a cast that leaves the fingers free, or asked the surgeon whether they can rest the forearm on a table and use the fingers lightly. Tell them you wear scleral lenses and ask what movement is allowed.
Is a homemade stand OK?
Many wearers have used an upside-down funnel or a cup with a hole cut in the bottom to hold the inserter upright, sometimes with a small light underneath. Whatever you use must be stable, clean, and kept dry, and the lens and inserter must not touch anything that isn't clean.
How do I clean lenses with one hand?
This is often the hardest part. Some wearers rub the lens gently in the palm of the injured hand if the fingers can move, or rest the lens in a clean cupped palm and rub with one fingertip. Others ask a helper to do the nightly cleaning. Ask your fitter whether your solution needs rubbing or whether a different system would be easier for now.