We may earn a commission from links on this page.
Contact with cat pupils or neon colors can be fun, but are you sure you want to stick a piece of plastic from a costume store in your eye? Experts like them at the American Academy of Ophthalmologywarn against this. These over-the-counter contacts are technically illegal in the USA (although many companies sell them anyway). CDC warns that the risks include “eye pain and vision loss.”
Cheap Halloween pins tend to be generic, but the AAO notes that pins should never be universal. Contact that is too much or too little for your eye can cause corneal abrasions, corneal ulcers, and lead to infections such as keratitis. In severe cases, infections may lead to blindness. 2017 report The FDA found bacterial contamination in 27% of people who came into contact with the suits.
If you wear contact lenses (for Halloween or otherwise), the AAO recommends monitoring for symptoms such as redness, swelling, pain, or excessive discharge. Seek help as soon as you suspect an infection. Your eyes are more susceptible to infections than other parts of your body, so be careful.
Contact lenses require a prescription by law, so if the colored contact lenses you're eyeing can be purchased without showing a doctor's prescription, they are illegal. However, the real thing can be expensive: I found prices ranging from $40 to $110 per pair. Lens.com, Discount contactsAnd evil eye.
All of these websites allow you to order online, but you will have to provide your prescription information before you can place your order. Fortunately, The Federal Trade Commission has ruled that providers must give you your contact prescription after fitting so that you can obtain your prescription elsewhere. And they I can't charge you extra for this.
What are your thoughts so far?
Once you purchase lenses, you should know how to care for them. If you wear contact lenses every day, you already know what to do. But if you're just looking for a pair for a costume, here are the basics:
-
Wash your hands before touching your lenses.
-
Store them in contact lens solution and keep the lenses and their case clean.
-
Don't sleep or swim with them.
-
And for Pete's sake, don't share them with your friends!
After all, the bloodshot look stops being cool once you take off the zombie costume.
