Don't panic. Seriously. Your eye isn't a bottomless pit, and that piece of plastic hasn't migrated into your brain. It's physically impossible for a contact lens to slide behind your eyeball and get stuck in your skull because of a thin, moist membrane called the conjunctiva. This tissue folds back over itself to line the inside of your eyelids, creating a sealed pocket. If you have a contact lens lost in eye, it’s just tucked into a corner of that pocket, likely folded over or stuck under the upper lid.
It feels scratchy. It's annoying. You might even feel like something is digging into your optic nerve, but it’s mostly just a combination of dry eye and a bit of minor irritation. People freak out because the sensation is so intense. Our corneas have more nerve endings per square millimeter than almost anywhere else on the body. Even a tiny speck of dust feels like a boulder, so a folded-up silicone hydrogel lens feels like a literal shard of glass. Take a deep breath. We’re going to get it out.
Why lenses disappear in the first place
Most of the time, this happens because you rubbed your eye too hard. Or maybe you fell asleep in them and your eyes got bone-dry, causing the lens to suction onto the white of your eye (the sclera) and then slide upward when you blinked. It’s a common mishap. According to clinical data from organizations like the American Academy of Ophthalmology, "lost" lenses are one of the most frequent non-emergency calls eye docs get.
Sometimes the lens isn't even there anymore. You might have rubbed it right out of your eye onto the floor without realizing it. But because the lens irritated the surface of your eye, the "foreign body sensation" remains. Your brain is convinced the lens is still there because the scratch is still there. This is why you shouldn't just keep digging with your fingernails. You’ll end up with a corneal abrasion, which hurts way worse than a lost lens.
The Anatomy of the "Trap"
The space where the lens hides is called the fornix. Think of it like the crease in a sofa. When you look down or rub your eyes, the lens can get pushed into this superior or inferior fornix. If it’s under the upper lid, it’s basically invisible to you in a mirror. You need a specific technique to coax it out.
How to find a contact lens lost in eye
First, wash your hands. Use plain soap. Avoid the fancy stuff with lotions or heavy perfumes because that film will get on your eye and sting like crazy.
Now, look in the mirror. Use a bright light. Pull your lower lid down and look all the way up. If you don't see it, do the opposite. Pull your upper lid up by the lashes and look all the way down. If you still see nothing, you’ll need to use your fingers to gently feel through the eyelid. Don't poke. Just press lightly on the lid and move it around to see if you can spot a shape or a localized bump.
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- Rehydrate everything. This is the most important step. If the lens is dry, it’s stuck like a suction cup. Flood your eye with sterile saline solution or rewetting drops. Do not use tap water. Tap water contains Acanthamoeba, a nasty little parasite that loves to eat corneas. Use plenty of drops—make your eye a swimming pool.
- The Massage Technique. Close your eye. Gently, and I mean gently, massage your upper eyelid in a circular motion. Sometimes this unfolds the lens and pushes it back toward the center of your eye where you can actually see it and grab it.
- The Eversion Trick. This sounds gross, but it works. You can actually flip your upper eyelid inside out over a Q-tip. It doesn't hurt, it just feels weird. This exposes the entire upper fornix. If the lens is hiding deep in there, this is usually when it reveals itself.
When it's actually a medical issue
There was a famous case study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) in 2017 about a 67-year-old woman who had 27 contact lenses stuck in her eye. She just thought she had dry eyes and old age. She’d been losing them for decades. While that’s an extreme outlier, it shows that while a lost lens isn't usually an emergency, you shouldn't just ignore it if you can't find it.
If your eye is turning beet red, if you have yellow or green discharge, or if your vision is suddenly blurry, stop poking. You might have a "stuck" lens that has caused a small ulcer or a significant scratch. At this point, you need an optometrist or an ophthalmologist. They have a slit-lamp—a high-powered microscope—that can see things you can't. They also have fluorescein dye, which glows under blue light and highlights exactly where the lens is (or where the scratch is).
Common Misconceptions
- "It will travel to the back of my brain." Impossible. The conjunctiva is a continuous barrier.
- "It will dissolve." No, contact lenses are medical-grade plastics. They stay intact.
- "I can use tweezers." NEVER. Do not put metal tweezers anywhere near your eyeball. You will miss and cause permanent scarring.
Real-world recovery steps
If you’ve spent twenty minutes digging and you’re still frustrated, stop. Your eye is likely swollen now from the irritation. Go for a walk. Let the natural tears do some of the work. Often, once the eye relaxes and re-lubricates itself, the lens will migrate back to a reachable spot on its own.
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I’ve seen patients who were convinced they had a contact lens lost in eye for days, only to find it stuck to their eyelashes or even inside their sink. The phantom sensation is real. If you’ve flushed the eye and looked everywhere and still feel "something," it’s likely just the "footprint" of the lens—a minor irritation that will heal overnight.
Actionable Next Steps for Relief
- Flush with Saline: Use a generous amount of preservative-free saline to lubricate the eye and the lens.
- Blink Vigorously: Sometimes a series of fast blinks combined with looking in the opposite direction of the discomfort can dislodge a folded lens.
- Check the Floor: If you can't find it after 10 minutes of searching the eye, assume it fell out and search your clothing or the bathroom counter.
- Use a Cold Compress: If your eye is swollen from the search, apply a cold, clean washcloth for five minutes to reduce inflammation.
- Visit a Pro: If the sensation of a foreign body persists for more than 24 hours, or if you experience pain and light sensitivity, see an eye doctor immediately to check for a corneal abrasion or a retained fragment.
- Give Your Eyes a Break: Do not try to put a new lens in that eye for at least 24 hours to let the surface heal.