With Halloween approaching many of you may want to take your costume to a higher level of frightening by adding colored contact lenses or “costume lenses” for a visual effect. Even if you do not wear these lenses, many of you do know a friend or relative that will possibly wear these lenses for Halloween or even wear colored contacts on a daily basis to change one’s eye color.
Misusing these contacts or buying them from an unauthorized seller can lead to some serious problems such as infection, irritation, and scarring. Some costume contacts are sold under the name of “Theatrical” contacts which are hand-painted. While theatrical contacts can give you an amazingly scary look they are often hand painted with paints that irritate the eye. Our recommendation is to stay away from theatrical contacts as these are not sold by certified optometrists.
Here are some tips on how to ensure your contact lenses do not lead to serious eye issues:
A) Don’t wear the contacts for longer than a few hours
B) Don’t swap them with other people
C) Schedule a fitting with your optometrist.
D) Order your lenses from your doctor’s office. Contacts sold in costume shops or flea markets might be of questionable quality.
E) Clean your lenses properly!!!! As with normal contact lenses, putting contacts on with unwashed hands, leaving them in too long, and swapping them with others can increase your risk of a serious infection.
With these tips we wish you a great Halloween!