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    Wearing guide

    How to insert a scleral lens

    The inserter method, step by step: how to set up, fill the lens, hold your lids, and check that it went in right.

    By the Scleral Lens Team · Updated October 2, 2026 · 6 published sources cited

    The short answer

    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.

    Before you start

    Time: 30 to 45 minutes the first few times. Most people get much faster with practice.

    • Your scleral lens, cleaned and ready
    • An inserter (the plunger with the wide cup)
    • Preservative-free saline in a single-use vial
    • A flat mirror on the counter
    • Plain, non-moisturizing soap and a lint-free towel
    • A paper towel for the counter and a cover for the sink drain
    • A flashlight or your phone's light

    Step by step

    1. Set up your space

      Pick a clean, well-lit spot. Lay a paper towel on the counter, cover the sink drain, and put a flat mirror where you can look straight down into it.

    2. Wash and dry your hands

      Use plain, non-moisturizing soap, then dry your hands completely with a lint-free towel. Lotion, oil, or water on your fingers ends up on the lens.

    3. Check the lens

      Hold it up to the light and look for chips, cracks, or deposits. If it was stored in a hydrogen peroxide system, make sure the full neutralizing time has passed. Rinse it with preservative-free saline, never water.

    4. Put it on the inserter

      Set the lens on the inserter's cup with the hollow side facing up, like a bowl.

    5. Fill it to the brim

      Fill the bowl with preservative-free saline until the liquid domes slightly above the rim. More saline means fewer bubbles.

    6. Face parallel to the floor

      Lean over the mirror and look straight down into it, so your face is level with the floor, not tilted.

    7. Hold both lids wide

      With your non-dominant hand, hold your upper and lower lids open at the lash line so they can't close. Keep both eyes open.

    8. Bring it straight up

      With your dominant hand, raise the inserter toward your eye in one smooth motion, looking into the center of the lens. The saline touches your eye first. Keep going until the lens settles onto the white of your eye.

    9. Release and blink

      Pull the inserter straight back, let go of your lids, and blink gently.

    10. Do the three checks

      Shine a light at your eye and look for a bubble in the mirror. Cover your other eye and make sure your vision is clear. Notice whether the lens feels comfortable. If any check fails, remove the lens, refill it, and try again.

    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.

    Why the steps matter

    The fill keeps air out. The space between the lens and your cornea has to be full of saline. If the bowl isn’t full to the brim, there’s air above the liquid, and it can get trapped against your eye as the lens settles. That’s why the guide on filling and air bubbles starts with the fill.

    Keeping your face level keeps the saline in. With your face parallel to the floor, the dome of saline points straight up at your eye. Tilt, and it runs out of the bowl before the lens gets there.

    Holding both lids at the lash line keeps them out of the way. A scleral lens is wider than the gap between relaxed lids. Holding the lids right at the lash line, rather than further up the lid, stops them from slipping and closing on the lens.

    What to put on your eye, and what never to

    The bowl of saline sits against your cornea for as long as the lens is in, so what you fill it with matters.

    • Preservative-free saline only. Preservatives such as benzalkonium chloride, common in multi-use eye products, can damage the cells on the surface of the cornea and conjunctiva.[4] Single-use vials are the most common choice: in an international survey of scleral lens practitioners, 67% of patients used single-use vials of non-preserved saline.[5] Open a fresh one for each insertion.
    • Never water. The FDA advises never exposing contact lenses to any water, including tap, bottled, and distilled water. Tap and distilled water have been linked to Acanthamoeba keratitis, a corneal infection that is hard to treat.[2] Cases have been reported in scleral lens wearers, and the authors stressed sterile, preferably single-use saline and cleaning the plunger.[6]
    • Hydrogen peroxide must finish neutralizing. If your lenses soak in a hydrogen peroxide system overnight, wait the full time on the label before you insert them, and use the new case that comes with each bottle. Peroxide that hasn’t neutralized can sting, burn, or damage the eye.[3]

    If it doesn’t go in

    • The saline spilled on the way up. Refill and try again. Go a little slower, and check that your face is level.
    • You blinked. Very common. Shift your grip closer to the lash line and try again. It helps to look into the center of the lens as it comes up.
    • The lens is in, but there’s a bubble or your vision is hazy. Take it out, refill to the brim, and reinsert. Don’t wait to see if it goes away.
    • You’ve tried several times and your eye is getting tired. Stop, rest for a few minutes, and come back to it. Pushing on makes it harder.

    How long until it’s easy

    It takes practice, and almost everyone is slow at first. In a year-long study of 95 scleral lens wearers, 36% could insert a lens correctly in under 15 minutes on the day they received it, while 13% needed more than an hour. Among those who kept going, the number of attempts it took dropped significantly over the year.[1] Give yourself two to three weeks of daily practice before deciding it isn’t working, and tell your fitter if you’re still struggling.

    Common mistakes

    • Filling the lens short of the brim. An underfilled lens is the usual cause of a bubble.
    • Tilting your head instead of keeping your face parallel to the floor. Saline spills and air gets in.
    • Rinsing or filling with tap water, bottled water, or a multipurpose solution from a multi-use bottle.
    • Letting go of your lids before the lens has settled.
    • Moisturizing soap, hand lotion, or wet hands.
    • Rushing. Give yourself time the first few weeks, especially on workday mornings.

    Common questions

    Which way up does the lens go on the inserter?

    Hollow side up, like a bowl, so you can fill it with saline. The outside of the dome sits in the inserter's cup.

    Can I use contact lens solution from a bottle to fill the lens?

    Only preservative-free saline goes in the bowl, ideally from a fresh single-use vial each time. Multipurpose solutions and multi-use saline contain preservatives, and the fluid in the bowl sits against your cornea all day.

    Which eye should I do first?

    It doesn't matter which, as long as it's always the same one. A fixed order is the simplest way to never mix up the right and left lenses.

    What if the lens lands crooked or on the white of my eye?

    Take it out with your removal plunger and start again with a fresh fill. Don't try to slide it into place with your finger.

    My inserter doesn't have a hole in the bottom. Does that matter?

    A hole lets you see through the lens to line it up with your eye, which many people find easier. Ask your fitter whether a different inserter would help.

    Keep going

    Guide

    Filling solution and air bubbles

    Fill the lens with preservative-free saline from a fresh single-use vial until it domes slightly above the rim, and keep your face parallel to the floor as it goes in. If you see a bubble, take the lens out, refill it, and put it back in. Don't wait it out.

    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. Contact Lens Risks. Content current as of September 4, 2018. fda.gov
    3. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Hydrogen Peroxide Solution (contact lenses). Updated July 26, 2023. fda.gov
    4. Goldstein MH, Silva FQ, Blender N, Tran T, Vantipalli S. Ocular benzalkonium chloride exposure: problems and solutions. Eye (Lond). 2022;36(2):361-368. doi:10.1038/s41433-021-01668-x pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
    5. Schornack MM, Fogt J, Nau A, et al. Scleral lens prescription and management practices: emerging consensus. Cont Lens Anterior Eye. 2023;46(1):101501. doi:10.1016/j.clae.2021.101501 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
    6. Sticca MP, Carrijo-Carvalho LC, Silva IMB, et al. Acanthamoeba keratitis in patients wearing scleral contact lenses. Cont Lens Anterior Eye. 2018;41(3):307-310. doi:10.1016/j.clae.2017.12.004 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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