UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

Hiya, I am using a plunger to remove my rgps, cant do the blinking thing yet! Problem is I was only given one plunger and want a spare.....where can I get one? Pat gave me a link to a site that sells them but they charge £4 for delivery anyone know anywhere any better?
I am back at the opticians in 2 weeks so could ask for one then but would like to get a spare before then!

have you tried a high street optician? I don't know whether they would be able to sell you one, but "nothing ventured" ...

All the best. Let us know how you get on.

Andrew

I can only blink out the right lens, the left is too big.

It is worth practising using the method where you pull your eye lids apart and gently push them together to catch the edge of the lens and flick it out. Worth having a back up method incase you need to remove lenses in a hurry and no plunger available!

I get my plungers from a high street optician and it cost less £1.

Fortunatly my wife works near to town so she could walk in to get it for me, otherwise a 3 mile trip to town by was would have cost me £3

Using my car and paying for the car park, I could have done it for £1.50.

I will practise the blnking method, prob a good idea to have a back up removal method!
I managed to wear the lenses for 6 hours today! Its going well so far Going to stick at a max 6 hours for a while now, I still feel unhappy to go back to poor vision but its early days and I will get used to it. Wish I could leave them in for 12 hours!

Yes Gareth, removal of lenses, I use the eyelid removal method using a finger from each hand as advised at MREH.

I was provided with a plunger to remove the mini scleral I tried and could use this for my latest lenses as they are rgp's, approximately 11mm diameter.

Would be interesting to know which method is best for reducing the trauma and risk of damaging the eye.

i will raise try to remember to raise this question at my next consultation with Dr CT at MREH.

Great news with your lenses Donna. What type of lenses are they and who/where are going to?

The one and only time I've used a plunger to try and remove a contact lens I thought I was going to pull my whole eye out of its socket.

I am however considering wearing a couple of plungers to the next haloween - have something grizzly hanging off the end, should scare a few people.

Ed

I have never actually used a plunger. I don't actually think I have ever had one! Life is much easier if you do not depend on things to get your lenses out: that way you can always get them from your eye, even if the plunger is miles away!

Andrew

I use a plunger most of the time as I find it very difficult to get my RGP out any other way, especially now I wear it over a soft lens, and I can't see close up without my glasses on.....ever tried taking out an RGP the conventional way still wearing your glasses...?
And it stops me panicking.....so must be a good thing!

Even with sclerals I used the following method:

Using a clean finger, press near the outermost corner of the eyelids where they join, and pull the skin and lids back toward the ear, and blink........you may have to roll the eye up and down or side to side and blink again.......eventually the edge of the lens will catch on the lid and pop out.

Hope this helps. Piper

The first time I tried to use the plunger it stuck itself to my eye and I honestly thought I was going to perform my own cornea removal The optician was a star.....very calm and managed to remove the plunger for me lol I have tried to blinking removal thing and so far only managed to get the lens to slip up under my eyelid..ouch! Once i am confident with the removal and insertion I will practice the blinking thing, I am guarding my plunger as if its the family silver at the moment!
Its day 4 of my rose k lenses and today I managed a whole 6 hours No pain or discomfort! When I wake my eyes are fine, no gunk or soreness. The left lens goes in easier than the right and the right is more difficult to remove, my right eye is the one least affected aswell.