Table of Contents

How can scleral lenses help you?

Scleral lenses are designed to completely vault the corneal surface. This creates a new uniform curved surface over the cornea which will mask irregularities due to:

  • Keratoconus
  • Corneal transplants
  • Dry eyes
  • Corneal disease
  • Lasik, RK, or PRK
  • Trauma damaged corneas

The Use of Scleral Lenses

Care of scleral lenses:

  1. Daily cleaner: After you have removed your lens, place the lens in the palm of your hand. Add several drops of cleaning solution, and gently rub both sides of the lens for 10-15 seconds.
  2. Rinse: Rinse your lens with either saline or tap water to remove all traces of the cleaning solution. Make sure that your sink is plugged so that the lens does not go down the drain.
  3. Conditioning/soaking solution: Place the lens in its case with the soaking solution recommended by your eye care provider. Do not store lenses in saline overnight.
  4. Saline/application solution: When you are ready to apply your lens, remove it from the conditioning solution. Apply 2 drops of the conditioning/rewetting solution to the lens and rub it into the front surface. Fill the bowl of the lens with non-preserved saline (AddiPak is a commonly used option), and apply to the surface of your eye. As the fluid filling the scleral is in contact with your eye all day, this limits the toxicity of preservatives and chemicals found in other solutions.

Insertion Tips:

  1. First, wash your hands: Wash your hands with soap that does not contain lotion.
  2. Place the lens on the inserter: Place the lens on top of the inserter and fill it to the brim with non-preserved saline.
  3. Lean forward: Lean forward at your waist and place your chin to your chest so that your face is parallel to the sink counter. Tip: If you place a towel on the counter, it becomes easier to find the lens if it falls because it will not bounce off the towel. In addition, a flat mirror on the counter is helpful to see what you are doing.
  4. Hold your eyelids: Use the hand that is free to come over the top of your head to hold the upper lid and a finger in the hand that you are using to hold the lens to hold your lower lid.
  5. Insert the lens: Gently lift the lens onto your eye while looking straight down.
  6. Blink and check: Gently blink once the lens is in place. Then, check in the mirror for any signs of bubbles trapped under the lens. If a large bubble is present, the lens will need to be removed and reinserted.

Removal Tips:

  1. Wet the removal plunger: Wet the removal plunger with a drop of saline or conditioning solution.
  2. Place the plunger: Gently place the plunger toward the lower edge of the lens. It is important that you do not place it directly in the center.
  3. Remove the lens: Gently lift the lens away from the eye and then move it downward out from under your upper lid. Tip: If it is difficult to remove, you may place a finger on your lower eyelid and gently press on the white part of the eye just next to the scleral lens. This will cause the suction to be broken and make it easier to remove the lens.
  4. Use artificial tears if needed: You may find that if your eyes are really dry, a drop of artificial tears a few minutes before removal may make it easier to remove the lens.
  5. Clean the lens: Clean the lens as mentioned above before storing.

Adjusting to your lenses:

It is important that when you first start wearing scleral lenses, or you have not worn them for a long time, that you gently adapt your eyes to the lenses. On the first day, we encourage you to wear the lens for no longer than 2 hours. The next day, you can add 2 hours so you are wearing them for 4 hours. You will continue to add 2 hours per day until you can wear the lens throughout the day. If you fail to do this, your eyes can become sore and the adaptation process will take longer.

Additional Tips:

It is not uncommon for your vision to become cloudy throughout the day. It may be necessary to remove the lens, gently clean it and then refill it with fresh non-preserved saline in order to clear your vision. If this is happening more than 1-2 times a day, please let us know.

For additional tips and help with your lenses, please visit the following website:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0dl2P6qyZU&t=2s