Alternative procedure (applies to soft and dimensionally stable contact lenses, not scleral). In addition to lying down, the mirror can stand at an angle or hang on the wall.
ATTACHING THE LENSES WHEN USING A STAND : Place the stand on a table, preferably on top of a magnifying mirror. Remove the two narrow parts from the lens tool and place it in the «pipe» of the stand, with the suction cup facing up. Place the lens horizontally in the suction cup. Fill saline solution into the lens (for those lens types that require this), otherwise don’t. Turn on the flashlight on your phone, or another small flashlight, and shine it onto the reflector in the opening (the «wood insert») at the bottom of the stand. Then you will see the light in the middle of the lens. Hold the eyelids away from the eyes with both hands and gently bend the head down, while keeping the focus on the light in the center of the lens. Gently press the eye against the lens, and tilt the lens onto the eye.
For some, it may be OK to switch hands before the second lens is to be put on and/or taken off.
EXTRACTION : Stand/sit in front of the mirror while squeezing the bellows just enough to create enough vacuum force for the contact lens to adhere to the tool. Here you have to try your hand, so start carefully. With your free hand, hold the eyelids away from the eye while guiding the tool towards the upper part of the lens. When the bowl is placed on the lens, release the pressure on the bellows. The contact lens now attaches to the tool, and can be «tilted» patiently out of the eye. If the tool slips from the lens, the procedure must be repeated with somewhat greater clamping of the bellows, greater vacuum pressure. Don’t be afraid to squeeze the bellows all the way in/together. Proceed carefully. The tip / «bowl» should not touch the eye.
The contact lenses are cleaned and stored according to the training provided by your contact lens fitter. Many people find it difficult to put on and take off lenses at first. Trial and error is common! Be patient, ask for advice, and remember practice makes perfect.
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