Can you cry with contacts in?

Tears are produced naturally by the lacrimal glands (or tear glands) above your eyes and on the inside of your eyelids to keep your eyes moist, comfortable, and healthy. You may also produce tears in response to emotions or physical irritants. The act of crying can help relieve stress and pain, and it can flush debris from your eyes when needed.

If you’re a contact lens wearer, crying with your lenses in may cause some mild side effects. But you can rest assured that crying with contacts in is safe. It won’t hurt your eyes, but you may encounter temporary blurred vision and other effects due to the extra fluid.

Read on to find out what you should be aware of when it comes to crying with your contacts in. You’ll also learn how to proceed with lens care if you produce tears of any kind.

Types of tears

There are three types of tears: basal, emotional, and irritant. Each serves a different purpose. It’s okay to cry in your contacts, no matter what type of tear you shed.

Basal tears

Basal tears are crucial for maintaining the moisture in your eyes. They are made of water, mucus, salt, and oil, and they provide a healthy, moist environment for your eyes throughout the day. As you blink, you spread basal tears (also called tear film) across the surface of your eyes.

Emotional tears

These are the tears that fall in response to heightened emotions like sadness, happiness, and even anger. Emotional tears and basal tears have the same basic composition, but emotional tears include higher levels of natural painkillers and stress hormones.

Irritant tears

If you’ve ever cried while chopping an onion, it’s because of irritant tears. Also called reflex tears, they occur when you come into contact with debris, dust, pollen, allergens, and other irritants. When your eyes are irritated, the tear response is activated to flush the irritants out.

What happens if you cry with contact lenses in?

When you cry, your eyes produce extra moisture. This increased fluid causes contacts to move around on the surface of your eyes and may result in some uncomfortable side effects. Aside from the lens movement, you may experience:

• Blurry or cloudy vision
• Lenses sticking to the underside of your eyelid
• Contacts feeling out of place
• Lenses falling out of your eye (this is relatively uncommon)

We’ll go into more detail about these side effects and how you can manage them in the next section.

Is it safe to cry while wearing contact lenses?

Yes, it is safe to cry when you’re wearing contacts. But it’s important that you remember not to rub or touch your eyes while you’re crying or afterward. Doing so may cause your contact lenses to come out of your eyes or fold in an uncomfortable way.

Side effects of crying while wearing contact lenses

While it is safe to cry in your contacts, there are some repercussions to look out for. Here are some side effects of crying in your contacts, and what you can do to find relief:

Blurry vision

Crying makes your natural tear film a bit thicker, which can affect how well your contacts stay in place. Light may also be refracted differently during this process, which may cause short-term blurry vision. 

Your instinct may be to rub your eyes if this happens, but doing so can move your contacts out of place or out of your eye completely. Use a tissue to carefully blot your eyes or try blinking a few times for relief instead. 

Cloudy vision

As with blurriness, you may experience some cloudy vision if you cry with your contacts in. A layer of the lipids, enzymes, and mucus found in your tears may stick to your lenses when you cry. This layer can make your vision seem cloudy. 

If you wear monthly or biweekly lenses, it may help to take your contacts out and clean them before putting them back in. Just be sure to use the appropriate contact lens solution for your lenses.

Contacts may fall out

Rigid gas-permeable lenses are more sensitive to increased tearing and fluid than soft contacts. When your eyes have extra moisture, it may be possible (though rare) for your contacts to fall out. However, this is more likely to occur if you don’t produce enough tears, causing your contacts to become too dry.

Should one of your contact lenses come out, quickly put it in an appropriate contact solution and clean it thoroughly before reuse.

Be sure to inspect your contact lens once you locate it. A damaged or scratched contact should be discarded and replaced with a new lens. Soft contact lenses don’t usually fall out when you cry, but they too should be replaced if damaged.

Contacts may get stuck under your eyelid

Extra fluid can also make it possible for your contact lenses to move around the surface of your eyes. Sometimes, they can even wind up clinging to the inside of your eyelid. 

If you feel your contact touching your eyelid, close your eyes and look in the opposite direction of where you feel the lens is stuck. (So, if it feels stuck at the top of your eye, under your upper eyelid, look down.) Then, gently rub your eyelid to help get the contact back in place. Your lens might come out at one of the corners of your eye as you do this, so be sure to collect it and clean it if that happens.

You can also apply artificial tears to your eye or a similar type of eye drop to add new moisture and help free the contact from under your lid.

In more severe cases, a contact lens may not be so easy to remove. However, this is uncommon and it’s not usually an emergency, so don’t panic! Just contact your eye doctor as soon as you can for assistance.

Can you wear the same contacts again after crying in them?

If they’re still intact, you can continue wearing the same contact lenses after crying. You just need to remove and properly disinfect your monthly and biweekly lenses before your next wear. Lenses that fall on the floor, or that are torn, scratched, or damaged in any other way should be replaced. 

Here are a few tips on how to clean contact lenses and store them before your next use:

• Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water and dry them with a clean, lint-free towel.
• Remove your contact lenses carefully from each eye.
• With your lens in the palm over your hand, pour contact solution over the contact and rub it gently with your fingers to help remove debris.
• If storing your contacts, place each lens in a clean contact case with fresh solution for safekeeping.

If you use daily disposable lenses, you can discard the lenses and switch to your glasses after crying. Then resume contact lens wear the next day with a fresh pair of lenses. 

Contact your eye care professional if you experience any additional issues with your contact lenses. Existing Lenstore customers can get a free eye test with our trusted partner, Vision Express — simply book an appointment online.

Sources

1. How tears work. National Eye Institute. July 2019.
2. Why you may feel better after crying. Health Essentials. Cleveland Clinic. November 2022.
3. Why do we cry? The truth behind your tears. Health Essentials. Cleveland Clinic. February 2022.
4. Can you cry with contacts in? Vision Center. February 2024.
5. Prevent infection with proper contact lens care. EyeSmart. American Academy of Ophthalmology. March 2020.