Adults, teens, and even children everywhere will be wearing colored contact lenses this Halloween. Did you know there can be risks involved with these popular costume accessories? Before you grab those cat-eye contacts off the shelf without a prescription, you should read this. You could unknowingly be putting your eyes and vision at risk.
Over-the-Counter Colored Lenses Can Cause Eye Damage
You may see them advertised as cosmetic, theatrical, decorative, colored, costume, or Halloween themed contacts. They may seem like harmless fun and the perfect addition to your costume, but it is actually illegal to sell colored contact lenses without a prescription. It is a law that is rarely enforced by authorities, which is why they are easy to find.
It is widely believed that wearing these lenses is harmless. In fact, some of the products even advertise as being totally safe right on their packaging. This misconception has led to complications for many unfortunate individuals.
When you get a prescription for colored contacts from your eye doctor, they will make sure the contacts prescribed fit correctly and are made of modern breathable materials which allow more oxygen to reach the eyes. This modern material combined with a well fitting contact lens greatly reduces your chance of having ocular complications. Contacts purchased over the counter are often made of older, less oxygen permeable materials which make patients more prone to eye infections. If the contacts also fit too tightly or too loosely this is a recipe for disaster.
Purchasing any kind of contact lenses without a prescription from a licensed manufacturer can result in a variety of eye complications. These include pink eye and other eye infections, vision impairment, corneal abrasions, and in rare cases even vision loss.
If you are thinking about getting contact lenses to go with your Halloween costume this year, any reliable retailer should request a prescription. If they do not, take your business elsewhere. Make sure you take all proper precautions in caring for and cleaning your colored contacts just like you do with your vision correcting lenses.
Whether you have perfect vision or not, all contact lenses, including colored contacts, require a prescription and proper fitting by an optometrist. Buying colored contacts without a prescription, could leave you with eye damage or vision complications that haunt you long past Halloween.