Should contact lenses be removed before irrigating an injured eye?
Following a chemical burn, diluting the chemical is the number one priority, and time is of the essence. It can be very painful, traumatic, and difficult to remove the contact lenses until irrigation has been underway for a while because of the natural tendency to squeeze the eyelids shut in response to an injury (blepharospasm). In certain cases, the contact lenses may actually provide some degree of protection to the cornea, so it is recommended that irrigation be started immediately and removal of the contacts done later. Soft contacts, however, can retain chemicals and therefore, should be removed as soon as possible.
