A very common fear
If the thought of anything coming near your eye makes you flinch, you’re in good company. Many people who wear scleral lenses today say they never thought they could do it, and plenty of them had never worn a contact lens of any kind. The fear makes sense: the front of your eye, the cornea, is one of the most densely innervated and sensitive tissues in the body.[1] Your body is built to protect it.
The honest picture is that the first week or two is usually awkward and slow, and some people find it upsetting. It also usually gets better.
What you’re actually doing
Most people picture pressing a finger onto their eyeball. That isn’t how scleral lenses go in.
- The lens rides on a tool. You fill the lens with preservative-free saline and set it in the cup of an inserter or on a stand. You never balance it on a fingertip unless you choose to.
- Saline touches first. As you bring the lens up, the dome of saline meets your eye before the lens does. Wearers usually describe it as cool and strange rather than painful.
- It lands on the white of the eye. A scleral lens is made to arch over the cornea and rest on the white of the eye, with saline filling the space in between.
- Your fingers hold your eyelids, not your eye. One hand holds the upper and lower lids open at the lash line. That’s the part that takes the most practice.
- Removal uses a small plunger that grips the edge of the lens, not a finger on the eye.
It also helps to know that a lens can’t get lost behind your eye. The thin membrane that covers the white of the eye folds back to line the inside of the eyelids, forming a closed pocket, so there’s no open path behind the eye.[4]
The flinch is normal, and it fades
Blinking or jerking away when something comes toward your eye is a protective reflex, not a sign you can’t do this. What changes it is repetition.
The best long-term picture comes from a study that followed 95 new scleral lens wearers for a year.[2]
- At the visit where they received their lenses, 36% could put a lens in correctly in under 15 minutes, and 13% needed more than an hour. That slower group had been wearing glasses, soft lenses, or nothing at all before.[2]
- Among people who kept going, the number of attempts needed to put lenses in and take them out dropped significantly over the year.[2]
- Handling was the most common reason people stopped, given by 35% of those who stopped.[2]
So the fear is partly justified: handling is the hardest part for many people, and it’s the main reason some give up. But it’s a skill that improves with practice, not a fixed trait.
Things that help nervous beginners
The step-by-step technique is in how to insert a scleral lens. These are the habits that make the biggest difference when fear is the problem.
Practice when you’re calm, not rushed. Pick a quiet time with nowhere to be. Feeling late makes your hands shakier and the reflex stronger.
Set up the same way every time. A clean, well-lit counter, a flat mirror, a paper towel down, and the sink drain covered. Wash with plain, non-moisturizing soap and dry your hands completely. A familiar routine takes some of the fear out of it.
Give your eye a target. Look into the center of the lens, or at the light through the inserter, as it comes up. Many wearers say focusing on that point, and on the cool feel of the saline, helps them stay steady.
Keep both eyes open. It’s usually easier to hold one eye still when both are open.
Move slowly and smoothly. A quick jab to beat the blink usually sets it off. One steady upward motion works better. More on this in blinking or flinching as the lens comes close.
Stop before you’re exhausted. After several tries a watery, tired eye blinks more. Take a break and come back. Many wearers describe a breakthrough after stepping away, not after forcing it.
Try a different tool if one isn’t working. An inserter with a see-through hole, a lighted stand that frees both hands for your lids, and ring-style tools all suit different people. See inserters and removers, and ask your fitter before switching.
When it really isn’t working
Some people find handling harder for reasons that aren’t about nerve. In a study of 120 veterans, difficulty putting lenses in and taking them out was the most common reason people stopped, and having a neurological condition was linked to a higher chance of stopping.[3] If tremor, arthritis, low vision, or anxiety is making it hard, say so plainly. Options include:
- retraining at the office, sometimes more than once
- a stand or a different inserter
- a partner or family member trained to help, at least on hard days (see helping someone else with their lenses)
Questions to ask your fitter
- Can you watch me put the lens in and tell me what to change?
- Which inserter or stand would you suggest for someone who flinches a lot?
- Can someone in my family be trained at a visit too?
- What should I do if I can’t get the lens in before work or school?
- Who do I call if I’m stuck between visits?
A good fitter would much rather hear “I’m scared and struggling” early than lose you as a wearer. For more on what the learning curve looks like, see are scleral lenses hard to put in?.
Common questions
Do I have to touch my eye with my finger?
Not to put the lens in. The lens sits in the cup of an inserter or on a stand, and you bring it up to your eye. You do use your fingers to hold your eyelids open at the lash line, but that's your lids, not the eye itself. Removal uses a small plunger on the lens, not a fingertip on the eye.
Can someone else put my lenses in for me?
Yes. Some wearers, including children and people with a tremor or limited hand strength, have a partner, parent, or caregiver insert and remove the lenses. Ask your fitter to train that person at a visit, and see our guide to helping someone else with their lenses.
Can the lens get lost behind my eye?
No. The thin membrane that covers the white of the eye folds back to line the inside of the eyelids, which closes off the space behind the eye. A lens can slip under a lid or off-center, but it can't travel behind the eye.
Should I practice touching my eye before my lenses arrive?
Ask your fitter what they suggest. Many people find it helps to practice the setup instead: looking straight down into a mirror and holding the upper and lower lids open at the lash line with clean, dry hands. Don't put anything in your eye that your fitter hasn't given you.
What if I panic halfway through?
Stop, put the lens back in its case or on a clean surface, and take a few slow breaths. A watery, tired eye blinks more, so a short break usually helps more than another rushed attempt. You can always come back to it later the same day.