My junior year of high school was the year I got my first pair of contact lenses. At the appointment, the ophthalmologist showed me how to put the lenses in my eyes and how to clean them. He also warned me that before I put my contacts in my eyes – I should make sure that they were not inside out.
How do you tell if your contacts are inside out? My doctor explained that the way you tell is if you pinch your contact – it should curl up like a taco and not be flared out around the edges. I still do the “taco test,” but I’m never exactly confident of the results. To me, especially with the lenses I wear now, the difference is too subtle.
It’s been a while since my junior year in high school and soft contact lens technology has evolved significantly so I am wondering if this advice is still relevant? Can your contacts still get turned inside out?
Recent on comments on the web suggest that – yes – there is an inside and an outside to your contact lenses. Some ways you can tell are:
1) If they are colored, the darker side should be on the outside.
2) When you look at your contact on your finger, it should not flare out on the edges.
3) If you put the contact lenses in your eye and
a. They are uncomfortable
b. They fall right out
c. Your vision does not seem to be corrected properly
d. You experience burning, stinging, tearing
You are probably wearing your contacts inside out.
So my next question is, if you do wear your contact lenses inside out, does it really make a difference? Some people say that when wearing your contacts inside out, your vision is not corrected properly. And, when wearing them inside-out, you can also potentially scratch your lid and cornea.
In an effort to get to the bottom of this, I contacted my go-to expert, my father-in-law, Dr. Tom. He confirmed that if you wear your contact lenses inside out, you will not harm your eyes, but your vision will be a little blurry and you may experience some discomfort.
If your soft contact lenses are wrong side out, instead of looking like a little bowl, they look more like a little saucer, and they are also darned uncomfortable. Some have little numbers on them too, so you should be able to read the numbers properly. Believe me, you know immediately if your contacts are in wrong.
By: Joyce on November 22, 2011
at 2:02 pm
To check if soft contact lenses are inside out place a wet contact lens on a dry finger tip. When the finger and lens are both wet it is more difficult to tell, also flatter base curves are more difficult to check. Acuvue Oasys with Hydraclear plus have a 123 indicator on the outer edge. Hold up to light to check. There is a picture on every box. We can print out a patient report from our computer on this. Other contqct lenses have markings as well. Barby Jewett Contact Lens Technician Optometry Center Los Angeles California
By: Barby Jewett on November 28, 2011
at 3:09 pm