How to Get Eyelash Out of Eye: Quick and Easy Techniques
Getting an eyelash stuck in your eye is annoying and uncomfortable. Your first instinct may be to rub vigorously to dislodge it, but this can actually worsen irritation. This comprehensive guide covers the proper techniques and best practices for safely how to get eyelash out of eye without injury. Follow the step-by-step instructions to quickly find relief.
How to Get Eyelash Out of Eye, What to do:
If you feel something poking your eye and believe it may be an eyelash, follow these guidelines:
- Do not rub your eye. This can force the lash to poke the sensitive corneal tissue and scratch the eye. Rubbing also worsens the felt sensation.
- Try holding your eyelid open with clean fingers and looking up, down, left, and right to help expose the eyelash. Natural eye movements may ease it out.
- Blink your eyes gently and repeatedly. Natural tears and lubrication will often flush out the eyelash on their own.
- If the eyelash remains after several minutes, inspect your eye closely in a mirror. Have someone else inspect as well if available.
- Use good lighting and magnification to aid visibility. Pull your top and bottom eyelids outward to better see the underside.
- If you spot the eyelash, see if you can gently lift or roll it out with a clean fingertip or soft-tipped eyelash curler. Never use tweezers inside the eye.
- If you cannot find or remove it yourself, seek help from an eye doctor, urgent care, or emergency room to extract it properly. Do not attempt removal blindly.
- If your eye becomes increasingly painful or damaged from the lash, seek medical care immediately to prevent lasting injury.
- After removal, soothe your eye by rinsing with artificial tears or cool water. Apply a cold compress if needed to reduce swelling. Avoid eye makeup.
With patience and proper technique, many eyelashes can be self-removed safely. At the first sign of worsening irritation, pain, or light sensitivity, seek professional assistance. Never probe the eye blindly trying to locate the lash.
What NOT to Do with an Eyelash in Your Eye
When trying to remove an eyelash from your eye, avoid:
- Rubbing vigorously or scratching at your eye. This pushes the eyelash in deeper, risks corneal abrasion, and worsens the felt sensation.
- Using tweezers or sharp tools to probe the eye. They pose too much risk of eye injury if placed in the eye blindly.
- Pulling at eyelids forcefully or touching eyes with unclean hands. Only use gentle pressure with clean fingertips to open the eyelids wider.
- Rinsing eye with tap water. Tap water is not sterile and may contain irritants. Use artificial tears, bottled water, or cooled boiled water instead of rinsing.
- Putting off seeing a doctor if the lash remains embedded or eye pain worsens. An eye doctor can painlessly extract the eyelash with proper tools.
- Attempting to dig out an eyelash that has broken off or curled into the eye. Seek professional help for embedded lashes.
- Using eye drops that aim to “flush out” or numb the eye. These can contain harmful chemicals and impede visibility.
Be patient and methodical when inspecting your eye rather than taking extreme measures that could cause injury and infection. Seek medical care promptly at any sign of worsening symptoms.
How to Prevent Eyelashes From Getting in Your Eyes
To reduce eyelashes getting in your eyes:
- Be gentle when removing eye makeup and trimming or curling lashes. Pull the lids taut to get a better view of the lash line.
- Ensure mascara brushes are not overloaded or clumpy, which makes lashes prone to flaking off. Replace mascara regularly.
- Consider lash perms or tinting instead of mascara, especially on lower lashes which easily transfer.
- Use quality eye makeup and applicators that do not flake. Carefully remove all traces of makeup each night.
- Install plastic guards on eyelash curlers to avoid pinching lids. Or curl lashes before applying mascara.
- Keep eyelids properly cleansed to avoid particles getting trapped along the lash line.
- Be careful when removing contact lenses to avoid dislodging eyelashes.
- Wear protective eyewear like goggles when necessary to shield against particles.
Take proactive measures for safer eyelash hygiene and maintenance. But even with best practices, stray eyelashes still find their way into the eye occasionally.
Professional Eyelash Removal Methods
If an eyelash remains embedded in the eye despite attempts to self-remove, an eye doctor has specialized tools to extract it properly:
- Anesthetic eye drops are applied to numb the eye for comfortable lash removal.
- The doctor examines the eyelid using a cotton-tipped applicator to better visualize the underside.
- Using an illuminated magnification apparatus and sterile, fine forceps, the lash can be precisely gripped and pulled out.
- Fluorescein dye may be applied to ensure the eye surface remains intact without abrasion.
- Antibiotic ointment and eye lubricants are given to protect the eye and prevent infection.
- In rare cases, a doctor may need to slit the eyelid or scrape the corneal surface to fully remove an embedded lash. Topical or local anesthesia is given.
See an ophthalmologist or optometrist promptly if you cannot remove an eyelash at home. Never attempt removal yourself with sharp tools or tweezers which can damage the cornea.
FAQs About How to Get Eyelash Out of Eyes
Here are answers to common questions, about how to get eyelashes out of eyes:
Why does it hurt so much when you get an eyelash in your eye?
Answer: The cornea is highly innervated with sensory nerves that detect even minor irritation. An eyelash moving against the eye causes amplified pain signals as protection.
Can an eyelash scratch your eye or cause damage?
Answer: If rubbed vigorously or left in the eye, an eyelash can potentially scratch the cornea. Seek medical care for symptoms of corneal abrasion like pain, light sensitivity, discharge, or vision changes.
Is it possible for an eyelash to get fully stuck behind your eye?
Answer: Extremely unlikely. The eyelid and surrounding anatomy prevent foreign bodies from moving behind the eye. An undetected lash likely just slipped out unnoticed.
How do you locate an eyelash in your eye that you cannot see?
Answer: Do not probe the eye blindly with objects trying to find the lash. See an eye doctor who can properly visualize the eyelid underside and remove any embedded lashes.
Is it advisable to utilize tweezers for the removal of an eyelash from your eye?
Answer: Avoid the utilization of tweezers or any other implements to extract an eyelash from the eye, as they may cause harm to the cornea. Use clean fingertips externally to try rolling it out. Seek medical help if it persists.
Conclusion
How to get eyelashes out of the eye is irritating but harmless if removed properly. Avoid rubbing the eye, use saline solution and clean fingertips to try removing it, and see an eye doctor promptly if symptoms worsen or persist. With some patience and proper technique, most eyelashes can be self-removed successfully. Take preventative steps like safer makeup use and removal to reduce stray eyelashes getting into the eyes, to begin with.
