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Warning Over Halloween Contact Lenses

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19 October 2017

By Lauren H

Every year, we are warned about the dangers of wearing ‘spooky’ contact lenses over the Halloween period, and every year people continue to do it. So, this year, DON’T! It’s not worth it.

If you don’t know what we’re referring to, they usually look something like this.

The coloured cosmetic lenses are sometimes sold illegally online, in shops, or on market stalls, and are usually not registered as safe by an optician or doctor.

Badrul Hussain, consultant ophthalmic surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, commented on the dangers:

Each year we treat patients, including children under 16, who have developed eye conditions after wearing cosmetic contact lenses.

There can be an increase in these problems in the period around Halloween.

The cornea, the clear window at the front of the eye, is delicate and can be scratched easily by inexperienced contact lens wearers.

This can expose the eye to organisms that can cause nasty infections, which in extreme cases can result in permanently impaired, or loss of, vision.

The British Contact Lens Association echoed these concerns, saying:

Wearing fancy lenses might make you look cool for one night on Halloween, but losing your sight could be a lifelong horror story.

Cosmetic coloured lenses are a medical device and should be prescribed by an eye care professional.

These lenses should only be purchased from – and fitted by – a registered practitioner.

So, we know it can be tempting, but is it really worth it? We certainly don’t think so. Do you?

 

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