How a scleral lens is meant to sit
A scleral lens is large. It arches over the cornea and rests on the white of the eye, with a layer of saline underneath. Because it lands on the white of the eye rather than the cornea, it’s designed to stay fairly still while you blink and look around.
Smaller hard lenses are different. They sit on the cornea and are meant to slide a little with each blink. Wearers who switch from them often remark that scleral lenses feel steadier, and that the lens doesn’t shift every time they blink.
So if your scleral lens visibly bounces, droops or wanders, it isn’t behaving the way it’s designed to, and that’s worth reporting.
Normal: a little settling at first
Right after insertion, there’s fresh saline under the lens and it hasn’t yet settled against the eye. Wearers often notice it floats or shifts slightly for a short while before it steadies. Over the following hours, the lens also settles, sinking gently into the tissue covering the white of the eye.
If the lens steadies, your vision is clear, and it feels comfortable, that early movement is usually nothing to worry about.
Signs the lens may be too loose
Tell your fitter if you notice any of these after the lens has settled:
- Bouncing with each blink, which you may see in the mirror or notice as vision that jumps.
- Drooping, where the lens slides down and your vision improves if you push it up.
- Drifting off-center during the day. See lens off-center.
- Spinning, where the dot keeps moving. See why does my scleral lens rotate?
- Bubbles or debris getting in after insertion, or fogging that starts quickly.
- Popping out, especially more than once. See the lens popped out.
- Edge awareness that comes and goes as the lens moves.
None of these is an emergency on its own if your eye feels fine. They’re signs the fit may need adjusting.
What a fitter can change
A lens moves when its edge doesn’t land evenly on the white of the eye. Fitters have several ways to steady it:
- Change the landing zone. Many eyes are steeper in some directions than others. A toric landing zone, or one adjusted section by section, can help the lens land evenly.
- Change the size. A different diameter changes where and how the lens lands.
- Change the shape further. For eyes that are hard to fit with standard designs, some practices use a scan or a mold of the eye to make a lens shaped to match. See scleral profilometry and impression-based lenses.
Your eyelids also play a part. Tight or loose lids, or a droopy upper lid, can push or pull on the lens. Mention any lid problems to your fitter.
Help your fitter see it
Movement can be hard to see in a quick check right after insertion. Wear your lenses for several hours before your appointment, unless your fitter says otherwise, so the lens has settled. Bring notes: which eye, when it moves, and what you notice. A short video in the mirror, if you can manage one, can help too.
What wearers say
Many wearers whose lenses bounced, drooped or kept rotating say a refit fixed it, sometimes after more than one lens, and sometimes with a different fitter. Some were told at first that the fit was fine and only got a change after they kept describing the movement. Wearers who came from smaller hard lenses often mention that the steadiness of a well-fitting scleral lens was one of the things they liked most.
What to ask your fitter
- How much should my lens move once it has settled?
- Does my lens look loose to you, and could that explain my symptoms?
- Would a different landing zone or size help it stay put?
- Should I come in having worn the lenses for a few hours?
Common questions
My lens moves for a minute after I put it in. Should I reinsert it?
Wearers often find a lens floats a little at first and then settles. Give it a short while. If it keeps moving, lets in a bubble, or your vision or comfort isn't right, remove it, refill to the brim, and reinsert.
My lens bounces when I run. Is that normal?
Wearers who have asked this were generally told a well-fitting lens shouldn't bounce, even during exercise. Tell your fitter. In the meantime, see our page on scleral lenses for sports.
My lens doesn't move at all and is hard to get out. Is that better?
Not necessarily. A lens that seems stuck, leaves a deep ring, or makes the white of the eye look pale under the edge may be too tight, which is the opposite problem. Tell your fitter about any of these.
Can I push my lens back into place if it droops?
Don't nudge it across your eye with a finger. If it has slipped, remove it and reinsert it. If you find yourself needing to do this often, the fit needs a look.