How To Get an Eyelash Out of Your Eye Safely

It’s natural to lose an eyelash or two. In fact, it happens at least once a day for most people. But what happens when your lovely lash gets caught in your eye, causing itching, burning and irritation?

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Optometrist Robert Engel, OD, offers some advice.

What to do if there’s an eyelash in your eye

How to flush out a stuck eyelash in your eye

Sometimes, it’s hard to tell if it’s an eyelash that’s causing irritation or if it’s something else. Usually, a stuck eyelash feels gritty or stings. It may help to hold your eye open in front of a mirror and look side to side to locate it. But Dr. Engel warns you may not always find the eyelash you’re looking for.

“You might feel itching or burning on the inside of your eyelid, or it might feel like you’ve got sand in your eye,” he says.

If you suspect you have an eyelash in your eye, you can try flushing it out by following these steps:

First, make sure you wash your hands with soap and water, and then dry them. You don’t want to get soap in your eye, or worse, introduce bacteria and end up with pink eye. If you wear contacts, safely remove them before the next step.
Stand in front of a mirror. Using two fingers, gently pull on the skin above and below your eye to have a better look. Avoid rubbing your eyes or tugging on your eyelid. Instead, move your eye side to side to see if you can see the stuck eyelash.
Sometimes, the eyelash will come out on its own if you blink a few times. Blinking is your body’s way of producing natural tears to help cleanse your eye of debris.
If it feels like the eyelash is stuck in your upper or lower eyelid, gently tug on the eyelid and rotate your eye in a circle — looking up or down, then to the side, and back to center. This should help move the eyelash into view.
Once you see the eyelash, if it’s on the white part of your eye, you can touch it with a wet cotton swab or wet tissue to remove it. You can use your finger, too, but be careful, as your nails could scratch your eye. If the eyelash is on the colored part of your eye, move to the next step.
Use saline or artificial tears to flush the eyelash out of your eye. If that doesn’t work, keep your eyes open and tilt your head under a steady stream of lukewarm water in the sink or shower to flush it out.

Will an eyelash eventually work itself out?

Usually, a stuck eyelash is only temporary. It can work its way out with the help of natural tears, or you should be able to flush it out safely.

“You don’t have to worry about an eyelash getting stuck behind your eye,” says Dr. Engel. “Your conjunctiva is a thin, clear membrane that protects your eye and stops things like dust, sand or eyelashes from getting too deep.”

What to avoid

When you have an eyelash on your eyeball, do what you can to avoid causing injury or introducing bacteria into your eye. When trying to remove it, avoid:

Touching your eye before washing your hands
Using your fingernails or other sharp objects, like tweezers
Removing the eyelash while you’re wearing contacts
Touching the colored part of your eye
Rubbing your eyes or eyelids
Putting anything in your eye (including chemicals) except for saline, natural tears or clean tap water

When to see a doctor

Getting an eyelash stuck in your eye is a normal experience. But sometimes, what feels like an eyelash might be another cause for concern, like dry eyes or an infection.

Make an appointment with a primary care provider or eye specialist if you experience:

Redness and tearing that won’t go away
Chronic pain
Discharge or mucus
Bleeding
Blurred vision and other vision changes

And if you’re thinking about trimming your eyelashes to avoid having this happen in the future, don’t. Doing so can increase your risk of other complications, such as eyelid inflammation and infection.

“If your eyelashes fall out often, that’s something worth looking at,” notes Dr. Engel. “Otherwise, an occasional eyelash that gets caught in your eye is fairly common and usually temporary.”