By: Hazel Bender
With Halloween approaching, the citizens are leaving no stone unturned to glam them to have look of their favorite celeb. From toes to face, everything needs to be decked up. If Halloween serves the exhibition of fashion, it is the home for many diseases too. Smelling the health hazards, U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued warning against the costume that could be unsafe.
The FDA has cautioned against purchase of non-prescription colored contacts online or from novelty Halloween shops as they believe these decorative lenses could cause serious damage to your eyes, or even blindness.
The government agency has strictly asked the people to shop only those contact lenses that are FDA approved and prescribed by an optometrist or ophthalmologist.
Decorative contact lenses are not meant for correcting vision but only change the look of your eyes. They can temporarily change your brown eyes to blue or make your eyes look like cat eyes or vampire eyes for Halloween. Decorative contact lenses come with several names. Some of them are:
- Fashion contact lenses
- Halloween contact lenses
- Color contact lenses
- Cosmetic contact lenses
- Theatre contact lenses
The health experts say, the contact lenses whether regular or decorative must not be bought from a street vendor, a beauty supply store, flea market, novelty store or Halloween store but should be purchased from a certified shop after completely prescribes by a daughter.
Know the Risks
Experts say, wearing decorative contact lenses can be risky. So, before having those pairs of beauty lenses you must understand its risks. If you have any of the below mentioned signs, you need to see a licensed eye doctor (optometrist or ophthalmologist). An eye infection could become serious and cause you to become blind if it is not treated. The risks include:
- A cut or scratch on the top layer of your eyeball (Corneal Abrasion)
- Allergic reactions like itchy, watery red eyes
- Decreased vision
- Infection
- Blindness
- Redness
- Pain in the eye(s) that doesn’t go away after a short period of time
- Decreased vision
From where to buy
You can buy contact lenses, including decorative contact lenses, from an eye care doctor, on the Internet or from a mail-order company. It’s very important that you only buy contact lenses from a company that sells FDA-cleared or approved contact lenses and requires you to provide a prescription.
