Eye experts have warned that if you use Halloween contact lenses you are risking “permanent vision damage”
Optometry Ireland issued the warning on Wednesday and said cheap contact lenses used to make a person’s pupils red or bloodshot are easily accessible.
Every year, sales of these types of lenses fly as people match their eyes to spooky costumes, but the experts are worried many aren’t aware of the risks associated with them.
Speaking to Newstalk, eye surgeon Arthur Cummings said: “They’re not the same device that you wear when you wear a contact lens that corrects your vision.
“That’s a medical device that’s been approved by authorities.
“These things are of a lower quality; the pigments, the materials and the colours that they use make them more likely to become infected and so they can transfer an infection to your cornea.”
Dr Cummings went on to say that many people who buy these contacts for one night of festivities have never been taught how to fit them safely.
He warned that you can really end up hurting yourself as a result.
“You can hurt the surface of the cornea, you can have an allergic reaction, you might reduce the oxygen supply to the cornea.
“And you can get permanent vision damage – this is why Optometry Ireland put out a statement saying these are basically illegal.
“They should not be sold.”
For people who decide to go ahead and use them for Halloween, Dr. Cummings listed some symptoms you should be aware of.
“The first thing is that your vision may deteriorate, you may find that your eyes are tearing.
“There may be a discharge and then your eyes are red.”
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