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    Wearing guide

    Your first two weeks with scleral lenses

    The first two weeks are when handling feels hardest and when most of the learning happens. Here's a plan for getting through them, and how to tell normal from a reason to call.

    By the Scleral Lens Team · Updated October 2, 2026 · 2 published sources cited

    The short answer

    Expect it to be slow and awkward at first. That's normal. Practice every day at a calm time, follow your fitter's wearing schedule exactly, do the three checks after every insertion, and keep notes for your follow-up. Decide after two to three weeks, not after two to three days.

    Before you start

    Time: Two to three weeks of daily practice before you judge how it's going.

    • Your fitter's wearing schedule, written down
    • Your full kit: lenses, inserter, remover, saline vials, cleaner, case
    • One practice spot with a flat mirror
    • Your glasses, for the hours you're not wearing lenses
    • A notebook or the printable practice log

    Step by step

    1. Practice before you leave the office

      At the visit where you get your lenses, ask to put them in and take them out yourself, more than once, before you go home. Write down the wearing schedule your fitter gives you.

    2. Set up one practice spot

      Same counter, same mirror, same layout every time. Fewer decisions means steadier hands.

    3. Practice at a calm time

      For the first days, don't learn on a rushed workday morning. Pick a time when nobody needs the bathroom and you have 30 to 45 minutes.

    4. Follow the wearing schedule exactly

      Many fitters build wearing time up gradually. Stick to the hours you were given, even on days the lenses feel great.

    5. Do the three checks every time

      Light, vision, comfort. If any check fails, take the lens out, refill it to the brim, and reinsert.

    6. Write down what happens

      Note how many tries it took, how long, whether you got bubbles, and how your eyes felt at the end of the day.

    7. Keep your glasses close

      Wear them when your lenses are out, and carry them in case you need to take a lens out during the day.

    8. Bring your notes to the follow-up

      Specific details help your fitter most: which eye, what time of day, what you felt. If something's bothering you, say so.

    9. Judge it after two to three weeks

      Handling is a learned skill. If you're still struggling after two or three weeks of daily practice, tell your fitter: there are other tools and techniques to try.

    These are general steps. If your fitter taught you differently, follow your fitter: your lens and eyes are theirs to know. Print the mirror cards to keep by your sink.

    What the first days usually feel like

    Slow. Most people take many tries to get a lens in during the first days, and taking it out can feel just as awkward. Your hands haven’t learned the movements yet, and your eye is still reacting to something coming toward it. None of that predicts how you’ll be doing in a month.

    The best long-term picture comes from a year-long study of 95 scleral lens wearers:[1]

    • On the day they received their lenses, 36% could insert one correctly in under 15 minutes. 13% needed more than an hour.[1]
    • Among the people who kept going, the number of attempts it took to put lenses in and take them out dropped significantly over the year.[1]
    • New wearers wore their lenses longer as time went on: on average from 9.8 hours a day at one month to 11.1 hours at twelve months, and from 5.1 to 5.6 days a week.[1]

    In other words: start slow, and expect it to get better.

    Building your wearing time

    Your fitter will give you a wearing schedule, and it’s worth following exactly. Scleral lenses can feel perfectly comfortable even after you’ve passed the time your fitter wants you to stop, so comfort alone isn’t the signal to keep going.

    If you’re unsure how many hours you’re meant to wear them this week, call and ask. It’s a quick question for them and an important one for you.

    Keep your glasses current

    Glasses aren’t the enemy. You’ll wear them before lenses go in, after they come out, and any time a lens has to come out early. The FDA recommends always having a backup pair of glasses with a current prescription.[2] If your glasses are old, ask your eye doctor whether an updated pair makes sense.

    Your follow-up visit

    Your fitter will usually see you again soon after you start. It’s the best chance to fix problems early, so come with notes. A practice log is ideal: print the 14-day practice log.

    Be specific. “My eyes hurt sometimes” is hard to act on. “After about six hours, I get a sharp feeling in the outer corner of my right eye that lasts until I take the lens out; my left eye is fine” gives your fitter something to work with.

    Things worth mentioning, even if they seem small:

    • how long insertion and removal take, and how many tries
    • bubbles that keep coming back
    • vision that’s sharp in the morning and hazy later
    • redness around the edge of the lens by evening, or a feeling of pressure
    • anything that’s made you think about giving up

    When it’s not just practice

    Some problems aren’t about technique, and your fitter can change the lens to fix them. Tell them if, after a couple of weeks:

    • you’re still struggling to insert or remove the lens most days
    • removal is hard most evenings even with the plunger on the lower third
    • you get bubbles even when you fill to the brim and keep your face level
    • your eyes are red or sore by the end of the day

    Common mistakes

    • Deciding you can't do it after the first few days.
    • Wearing the lenses longer than your fitter's schedule because they feel comfortable.
    • Learning on a rushed morning before work.
    • Telling your fitter it's "fine" when something is bothering you.
    • Sleeping in the lenses, even for a short nap.
    • Switching saline, cleaners, or tools without asking your fitter.

    Common questions

    How many hours a day should I wear my scleral lenses at first?

    Whatever your fitter tells you. Schedules vary with your eyes and your condition, and many build up gradually. Write it down at your first visit so you don't have to guess.

    Is it normal to feel the lens?

    Some awareness of the lens is common at first. Pain, burning, or a sore spot that gets worse through the day isn't something to push through: take the lens out and tell your fitter.

    My vision is clear in the morning and hazy by afternoon. Is something wrong?

    Midday fogging is a common complaint among scleral lens wearers, and there are fixes, from a planned midday refill to changes in the lens. Mention it at your follow-up, along with when it starts.

    Can I nap with my lenses in?

    No. Take them out before any sleep. The FDA warns that sleeping in daily-wear lenses can increase your chance of infection or irritation.

    What if I need to take a lens out while I'm away from home?

    Carry a small kit: a few saline vials, your remover, a clean case with fresh solution, and your glasses. Then a lens that needs to come out is a minor inconvenience, not a crisis.

    Keep going

    Guide

    The scleral lens daily routine

    Mornings: wash your hands, inspect and rinse the lenses, fill with preservative-free saline, insert, and empty and air-dry the case. Nights: remove over a towel, rub each side with your cleaner, and store in fresh solution, never topping off. Replace your case every three months.

    Guide

    How to insert a scleral lens

    Fill the lens to the brim with preservative-free saline, look straight down with your face parallel to the floor, hold both lids wide at the lashes, and bring the lens straight up to your eye in one smooth motion. Then check for bubbles every time.

    Guide

    How to remove a scleral lens

    Put a drop or two of artificial tears in your eye first. Then press the small removal plunger onto the lower third of the lens, never the center, until it grips, and pull outward. Do it over a towel, and clean the lens right away.

     Common worry

    Are scleral lenses hard to put in?

    At first, usually yes. It's a learned skill, and the first tries can take a long time. But in a year-long study, most wearers got noticeably faster and needed fewer attempts as the months went on. Give yourself two to three weeks before deciding you can't do it.

    Sources

    1. Macedo-de-Araújo RJ, van der Worp E, González-Méijome JM. A one-year prospective study on scleral lens wear success. Cont Lens Anterior Eye. 2020;43(6):553-561. doi:10.1016/j.clae.2019.10.140 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
    2. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Everyday Eye Care (contact lenses). Content current as of December 4, 2023. fda.gov

    Last updated October 2, 2026. Found an error or a newer study? Let us know and we'll correct the page.