How to tell if contact is inside out?

What changes if you put your lenses on inside out? Do you perceive any difference in your vision? Though it may seem obvious, for some how to put contacts in and how to take contacts out is not so intuitive.If you’ve put your contacts in inside out, you’ll know immediately. Most contact lenses are made to ensure the maximum amount of comfort when you wear them. Soft contact lenses especially, require little to no time for adjustment when you start wearing them, because they adhere perfectly to the surface of your eyes. If you put your contacts in and immediately perceive discomfort and irritation, you may have put your contact lens on inside out.

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Will my vision be blurry if my contact is inside out?

Though they won’t correct your vision in the way that they are designed to, putting your lenses on inside out will not necessarily make your vision blurry. Rather, because the lens is unable to adhere well to the surface of your eyes, they are more likely to shift in and out of place, causing your vision to blur.

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How to tell if contact is inside out: 3 methods

How to tell if your contact is inside out? There are a few different ways to tell if your contact lenses are in the correct orientation. The easiest way to tell if your lenses are inverted is by holding them on your finger and bringing them up to your eyes. Looking at the lenses horizontally, if the edges of the lenses point straight up, forming a perfect cup shape, they are the correct orientation. If you see instead that the edges flare out, the lens is inverted.

Another more tactile method for checking if your lenses are in the correct orientation is by pinching the edges together. Take the lens in question and pinch it between your index finger and your thumb as if you were trying to fold the lens in half. If the edges of the lens point upward, the lens is in the correct orientation. If the edges of the lens point outward, toward your fingers, the lens is inverted.

Lastly, if the other methods don’t work, and you haven’t figured out how to know if your contact is inside out, there is one last trick you can try: some contact lenses have laser markings engraved on them. If you aren’t able to tell if your lenses are inside out using the two other methods, you can try to read the small engravings on the lenses. Place the lens on your finger and bring it close to your eyes. If you can read the engravings correctly and the series of letters and numbers aren’t inverted, then the lens is in the correct orientation. If the engraving on the lens is mirrored, then the lens on inside out.

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What happens if I put my contact lens inside out?

Don’t worry, if you accidentally put a lens on inside out, it won’t necessarily damage your eye or the lenses, though the lenses are more likely to fall out. If you put the lens on inside out, you will just feel some discomfort and irritation in that eye. Just take out the lens and make sure that it is actually inside out, correct the orientation and put the lens back in. Once you’ve corrected the orientation, you shouldn’t feel any irritation or discomfort.

If the lens falls out, rinse it with contact solution and use any of the above tactics to see if the lens is inside out. You can refill your prescription contact lenses with ContactsDirect -- order your lenses and solution online and have them shipped directly to you!