What About Those Halloween Contact Lenses?

If you were thinking about picking up a pair of Halloween, special effect colored contact lenses at the Halloween costume store or the beauty salon, think again. First, it's illegal for that place to sell them without getting your prescription. Second, these cheap Halloween contacts can be very dangerous. They could severely damage your eyes or even cause blindness!

Color lenses may cause blindness (health.asiaone.com)

"The shop owners claim that color contact lenses are wearable overnight. This is not true," said Rufina Chan, chairman of the HKSPO. She said color contacts can only be worn for four to six hours at the most.



Illegal contacts put eyes at risk, Oklahoma doctors say (newsok.com)

Due to trendy circle contact lens use, ophthalmologists at Oklahoma City's Dean McGee Eye Institute say they and colleagues nationwide are seeing severe eye infections that lead to vision loss and could even require corneal transplants.



Halloween contact lenses may cause nasty infection (weblogs.baltimoresun.com)

But not only are they illegal, they can permanently damage your eyes and even make you go blind, said Dr. Elliott H. Myrowitz, an assistant professor and chief of Optometric Services at the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute. He's joining a chorus of doctors, organizations and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in warning consumers off these products.

What are popular right now are circle contact lenses along with Halloween contact lenses. To wear them safely, you should first see an eye care professional, get a prescription and then order them from a name brand company that does not use cheap paint. When you wear them, only wear them during the day and take them out at night. Your eyes might have to first get used to them and you should start off just wearing them a few hours a day. Of course, never share your contact lenses with anyone else either.
-T