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NEW YORK—Alongside the dress-up fun that comes with late October, ECPs around the country are warning consumers about the dangers of wearing contact lenses purchased over-the-counter and via the Internet this Halloween.
“These non-corrective lenses are designed only to change the appearance of the eyes,” the American Optometric Association (AOA) stated. According to the organization, they are easily accessible to consumers, and especially popular around Halloween, at flea markets, the Internet, beauty salons and convenience stores where they are sold as fashion accessories.
“Contact lenses are among the safest forms of vision correction when patients follow the proper care and wearing instructions provided by their eye doctor,” said Christine Sindt, OD, FAAO, associate professor of clinical ophthalmology at the University of Iowa, and chair of the contact lens and cornea section of AOA, in a statement from the AOA regarding the organization’s Eye-Q survey. “When patients do not use lenses as directed, however, the consequences can be serious,” she added.
The AOA, acknowledging many costume lenses are sold over the Internet, explained, “Since the sources for many of these products are typically outside of the U.S., many do not meet FDA requirements for prescription verification, and in some cases, wearers are risking their vision in order to be fashion-forward.” Sindt explained that patients should remember that contact lenses are still medical devices and, as such, should be handled with the appropriate level of caution.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classified all contact lenses—whether used to correct vision or simply for cosmetics—as medical devices in 2005, per the AOA. Today, contact lenses cannot be obtained legally without a prescription in the U.S.
As part of their “Lucky 13” Tips for a Safe Halloween, the FDA has included advice about costume contacts at number six, under the “Safe Costumes” tag. “Don’t wear decorative contact lenses unless you have seen an eyecare professional and gotten a proper lens fitting and instructions for using the lenses,” the FDA suggests.
As makers of the WildEyes contact lenses, CIBA Vision offers an additional warning on the website promoting their decorative CLs. “Warning! Don’t share your WildEyes contacts with anyone!” CIBA cautions. “Sharing contact lenses may spread micro-organisms which may result in very serious eye health problems,” the website added.
Related Articles
- `Lucky 13′ Tips for a Safe Halloween (nlm.nih.gov)
- Non-Prescription ‘Fashion’ Contacts Can Harm Your Eyes (nlm.nih.gov)
