Colored Halloween Eye Lenses Can Be Harmful, FDA warns

Decorative eye lenses for Halloween can prove hazardous; the FDA warns, and recommends people to purchase them after getting prescriptions from eye care professionals.

These lenses are capable of infecting the eye ball, causing allergies, affecting the vision, and can even lead to blindness. They can scar the cornea if not worn with proper care. They hamper clear vision too.

Efforts are being made by various organizations like the OCI (Office of Criminal Investigations), U.S. ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement's) and the U.S. CBP (Customs and Border Protection) to restrict the sales of these injurious trendy lenses. The effort is code named 'Operation Double Vision'.

"Even though Halloween approaches, consumers shouldn't let a good deal or great costume blind them to the dangers of counterfeit decorative contact lenses," HSI Executive Associate Director James Dinkins stated in a news release.

"What's truly scary is the damage these counterfeit lenses can do to your eyes for a lifetime," Dinkins added.

The non-prescribed color lenses are a danger to the eyes as they are likely to be of the wrong size. Consulting a doctor before buying the lenses is highly recommended. Purchasing such easily available lenses from any random store is not advisable. Only FDA approved eye lenses should be purchased from eye care medics over the internet. The buyers should also collect the prescription and important details, which may come in handy in case of replacement or any queries.

Laura Butler, purchased these decorative lenses and used them without knowing the dangers linked with them, she suffered from severe pain in her eyes after wearing these lenses for about 10 hours. On consulting a doctor she found her cornea and vision were damaged and she had got an eye infection.

"I was in severe pain and on medication for four weeks and couldn't see well enough to drive for eight weeks," Butler told Daily Mail. "I now live with a corneal scar, vision damage and a drooping eyelid,"

The FDA has listed the dos and don'ts for these lenses, like getting eye check-ups before and after wearing the lenses, strictly following all the instructions given and never sharing ones lenses with anybody.

A federal law was passed in 2005 in order to prohibit over-the-counter sales of these lenses as people were purchasing them without prescription from any available source like beauty parlors, or  over the internet. Anybody violating this law will have to pay a fine of up to $11,000.