Don’t buy contact lenses from any store or website if it doesn’t require a prescription
Selling lenses without a prescription is illegal and can put consumers’ eye health at risk, warns the Minnesota Optometric Association.
Halloween is all about trick-or-treating and finding a creative costume, but before playing dress up, consumers need to heed health and safety first. Some enthusiastic partygoers may wear decorative contact lenses as part of their costume, which can change a person’s eye color or create the effect of being a character like a cat, zombie or vampire. However, if these lenses are bought illegally and without a prescription from your eye doctor, they could lead to serious health issues and potentially damage your eyesight.
The Minnesota Optometric Association urges you to talk to your eye doctor first and obtain a prescription before incorporating decorative contact lenses as part of your costume.
Decorative contact lenses purchased over-the-counter put the wearer at risk for bacterial infections, allergic reactions and/or significant damage to the eye’s ability to function, with the potential for irreversible sight loss.
All contact lenses are classified as medical devices by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, whether they correct your vision or are worn simply for fun or a special occasion, like prom or a wedding. However, some decorative lenses are sold illegally through flea markets, the Internet, beauty salons and convenience stores. The MOA warns that you should never buy lenses from these sources.
It’s important to have a medical eye and vision examination from your optometrist to be sure you are a good candidate for contact lenses. Your eye doctor will also make sure your lenses fit properly and teach you how to safely care for your lenses.
Even though these are non-corrective lenses, they still pose the same potential health and safety risks as other contact lenses. Don’t buy contacts from any store or website that doesn’t require an eye doctor’s prescription. If you can walk in off the street, or log-on to a website and buy them without verification of your prescription, the lenses are not being sold legally.
According to the American Optometric Association’s 2013 American Eye-Q® consumer survey, 17 percent of Americans have worn non-corrective, decorative contact lenses. Of those individuals, 24 percent purchased them illegally without a prescription and from a source other than an eye doctor.
The MOA offers the following recommendations for all contact lens wearers: wear contact lenses only if they are fitted and prescribed by an optometrist; do not purchase contact lenses from gas stations, video stores or any other vendor not authorized by law to dispense contact lenses; never swim while wearing contact lenses – there is a risk of eye infection when contact lenses come into contact with bacteria in swimming pool water; make sure contact lenses are properly cleaned and disinfected as instructed by your eye-care professional; make sure you wash your hands before handling and cleaning your contact lenses; never swap or share contact lenses with anyone; and never sleep while wearing contact lenses unless they are extended-wear lenses specifically designed for that purpose.
For more information about the risks associated with decorative contact lenses, or to find additional resources about contact lens hygiene and safety, please visit www.aoa.org or http://Minnesota.aoa.org.
The Minnesota Optometric Association has more than 400 member doctors of optometry around the state. The MOA is committed to furthering awareness of optometrists as primary eye care or family eye doctors and to bringing about change that positively impacts the MOA member doctors and their patients.
Dr. Nicholas Colatrella is owner and medical director of PineCone Vision Center, Sartell, and vice president of the Minnesota Optometric Association.
