How to Get Something Out of Your Eye

Using Drops, Water, and Compresses

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Getting something stuck in your eye – from a speck of dirt or dust to a stray eyelash – can be highly uncomfortable. Common symptoms of having a foreign object in your eye include pain, redness, stinging, irritation, and excessive tearing. 

It’s important to take care when dealing with any eye-related issue, as your eyes are highly delicate. In this article, we’ll go over how to get something out of your eye at home by flushing it out, as well as when to see a healthcare provider.

What Could Be Stuck In Your Eyes?

Many different foreign objects can get stuck in your eyes during your day-to-day activities. Common examples include:

  • Dirt
  • Makeup
  • Shampoo
  • Eyelashes
  • Sand
  • Dried mucus
  • Dust
  • Fibers (i.e., from clothing)
Older woman putting in eye drops

Westend61 / Getty Images

Instructions to Flush Something Out of Your Eyes

Common household chemicals (such as shampoo or dish soap), cosmetic products, dirt, dust, and clothing fibers can often be flushed out of your eyes with clean water. Here are the steps to follow if you’d like to try removing something small from your eye at home.

Wash Your Hands

Before touching your eyes for any reason, you should always clean your hands thoroughly to avoid infection and irritation. As a first step, make sure to wash your hands with soap and water. Rinse them well to remove any residual soap before flushing out your eyes.

Remove Your Contacts

If you’re wearing contact lenses, gently remove them if possible. This could relieve your symptoms on its own, as the particle(s) stuck in your eyes may actually be stuck to your contacts. Torn contact lenses can also get stuck in the eye and cause discomfort.

Fill a Cup

Next, fill a cup or small glass with clean water. It should be room temperature or cool. You can use bottled water or water from a tap or shower, as long as it’s clean. 

If you’d prefer, you can use water directly from the tap or showerhead. Remember to avoid hot water, as this could worsen your eye irritation.

Flush Out Your Eye

To flush out your eye, hold your eye open by pulling gently on the lower eyelid and tip your head to the side at an angle. Then, hold the glass or cup to your eye and pour the water into it from the side. If you’re using water from the tap or shower, allow the water to stream into your eye (also with your head tilted at an angle). Avoid high water pressure.

Repeat the Process

Continue the rinsing process for at least 15–20 minutes. It’s safe to do it longer if necessary. You may need to take breaks and continue if your eye feels uncomfortable or sensitive.

Can You Remove What’s Stuck Without Water?

In addition to rinsing with clean water, here are a few steps you can take to try to remove something from your eye:

  • Wash your eye out with saline or eye drops: If you have them at home, you can follow the same steps above to wash your eye out with eye drops or sterile saline solution. 
  • Apply a compress: Particularly if your eye irritation is due to pink eye (conjunctivitis), dried mucus, or a clogged tear duct, it may help to apply a warm washcloth soaked in water to your closed eye several times a day. 
  • Blink to use your natural tears: Your eyes can protect themselves with your natural tears. If a speck or small particle is stuck in your eye, you can try blinking several times to see if your tears will clear it out. 
  • Use a cotton swab: You may be able to remove something from your eyelid or the white of your eye with a clean cotton swab. Never use a cotton swab to touch the colored part of your eye. If you try this, do it gently, and don’t keep going if it doesn’t work immediately.

What to Avoid When Cleaning Your Eyes

While cleaning your eyes, here are a few safety tips to keep in mind:

  • While it may be tempting, try not to rub, touch, or press your eye. 
  • Don’t try to remove anything from your eye if it’s penetrated (pierced) the surface.
  • Until your symptoms have resolved, don’t wear contact lenses or makeup.
  • Don’t touch the colored part of your eye with anything, including your fingers and a cotton swab.

Something Still Feels Stuck in My Eye, What Now?

If you’ve flushed out your eye and still feel like something is stuck in it, you may be experiencing a “foreign body sensation.” This could be due to a number of different conditions, from a scratched cornea or allergies to skin conditions like rosacea or viruses like COVID-19. There could also be a foreign object lodged in the affected area. 

If your symptoms continue after you rinse out your eye, reach out to a healthcare provider, such as an ophthalmologist, for an eye examination.

Eye Emergencies

Some eye problems are medical emergencies. Call 911 or go to the emergency room if you have:

  • Blurry or double vision
  • Nausea or headache alongside eye pain
  • Severe eye pain
  • Light sensitivity
  • Bleeding from the eye
  • Blunt force trauma to the eye
  • Any contact with a harsh or unknown chemical
  • Penetration of a foreign object into the eye
  • A scratched or cut eye

Summary

It’s common for particles to get stuck in your eye during day-to-day life. In many cases, you can relieve your symptoms and remove the object(s) by flushing out your eye with clean water or saline. See a healthcare provider if your symptoms don’t go away or if your eye pain is severe.

7 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
  1. American Academy of Ophthalmology. Feeling of something in eye.

  2. MedlinePlus. Eye - foreign object in.

  3. MedlinePlus. Eye emergencies.

  4. National Health Service. Eye injuries.

  5. American Academy of Ophthalmology. Quick home remedies for pink eye.

  6. MedlinePlus. Foreign objects in eye.

  7. American Academy of Ophthalmology. Should I worry about a recurring sensation of feeling something in my eye?.

Laura Dorwart

By Laura Dorwart
Laura Dorwart is a health journalist with particular interests in mental health, pregnancy-related conditions, and disability rights. She has published work in VICE, SELF, The New York Times, The Guardian, The Week, HuffPost, BuzzFeed Reader, Catapult, Pacific Standard, Health.com, Insider, Forbes.com, TalkPoverty, and many other outlets.