Can Contact Lenses Get Lost Behind the Eye?

If you are worried about getting contact lenses in Champaign, IL, you may be concerned about someday having your lens get lost behind your eye. There are stories of people who supposedly lost their contact behind their eye, never to find it again. Of course, these stories are false. It’s most likely that the contact lens simply fell to the floor or down the drain, and the wearer thought it was lost in the eye.

It’s Physically Impossible to Lose a Contact Lens Behind the Eye

Because of the way the eye is constructed, it’s a physical impossibility for a contact lens to get lost behind the eye. It helps to have a little understanding of the anatomy of the eye.

The part of the eye that consists of your eyelids and eyelashes is called the conjunctiva. The upper is called the palbebral conjunctiva and the lower is called the bulbar conjunctiva. From the outside, it appears as if you could slide something—like a contact lens—between the eyelid and the eyeball. But what you can’t see is that the conjunctiva folds back onto the eye, creating a kind of pocket. So even if something slides into that pocket, it can never go any farther than the fold. This is why, when you get something in your eye such as an eyelash, you can usually do an eye wash and get it to come out of the eye.

Now you know that your contact lens can never get lost behind the eye. Isn’t it time that you seriously consider getting contact lenses? They are a great alternative to wearing eyeglasses. Your eye doctor in Champaign, IL can fit you with comfortable contact lenses in just one appointment. Contact us today to book your contact lens eye exam.