One of the cruellest ironies of human
anatomy is that
eyelashes, whose purpose is to guard the eye from invading
dust particles and other nasties, can themselves turn traitor by falling into and irritating the eye. It is therefore doubly ironic that in this circumstance (and indeed in the event of any
ophthalmological security breach) one can reappropriate the eyelash as a tool which plays a vital role in removing its wayward sibling from the
eye.
Do not rub or poke at the eye with your dirty, dirty fingers. This will most likely introduce even more irritants. Instead, grasp the eyelashes firmly between finger and thumb and use them as a leash with which to drag the upper eyelid down over the eyeball. The aim is to manually close the affected eye in such a way that the eyelid is stretched taut, thus bringing the eyelashes further down the face than they are when the eye is closed in the ordinary fashion. The effect of this on the eyeball is to pull it downwards so that it is in contact with the soft skin under the eye (the part where you apply wrinkle cream). Having achieved this, simply roll the eye in a couple of big circles--look up, right, down and left to the very edge of your vision--and then open it. All going well, whatever object was caught in your eye should have rubbed off onto the skin beneath the eye, from where you can safely brush it away.
Well, it works for me anyway. But do take note of the safety precautions below, and thankyou to Alex for providing his superior advice.