With October 31st just around the corner, now’s a better time than ever to talk about Halloween contact lenses. These decorative lenses definitely add an extra layer of detail to a costume, and can help one to really stand out from the crowd. Lenses like these can be bought cheaply at outlet stores and costume specialty stores. But beware — there are serious risks associated with wearing such lenses.
Non-prescribed decorative contact lenses lead to issues because they are made to be ’one-size-fits-all’. Unlike baseball caps however, it is not safe to wear contacts that are not personalized to the unique dimensions and shape of your eye. As well, since the lenses are not regulated, they may be made with inappropriate or unsafe materials.
So what can happen to your eyes? The U.S. Food and Drug Administration indicates some of the dangers of wearing non-prescribed decorative contacts as being:
- scratches to the cornea
- vision loss or even blindness
- infection of the cornea (the dome covering the front part of the eye)
- infection of the conjunctiva (a lubricating layer of the eye)
Clearly, these are problems we would all like to avoid, and it is easy to do so. Avoid buying lenses that have not been prescribed to you by an optician, optometrist, or ophthalmologist. If you feel that your Halloween costume this year simply can’t do with a colourful or flashy pair of contacts, then visit your local optician who can provide lenses made just for you.
Article source: http://www.webmd.com/eye-health/news/20131024/halloween-contact-lenses-can-be-horror-story-for-eyes
Image source: http://alexfarthing.blogspot.ca/2012/10/new-blog.html