Contact Lenses and Halloween

Contact lenses can be great fun at Halloween. They can truly complete the costume. However, every year over 13,000 people are treated in emergency rooms due to contact lens injuries, many of them from injuries sustained over the Halloween celebrations.  Contact lenses are medical devices. This isn’t just our opinion. The sale and fit of contact lenses are controlled by Food & Drug Administration. The sale of unprescribed contact lenses have been illegal in the United States since 2005, yet many a gas station or costume shop still manages to import and sell them, without knowing how to properly fit them, or knowing whether the devices were manufactured to be safely worn. Even under the best supervision, injury and infections can occur. Even if you have been to an ophthalmologist or optometrist and received a prescription, be sure to only buy costume contacts from retailers who require a prescription to purchase the lenses and who only sell FDA-approved contact lenses. If you are set on wearing contact lenses as part of your costume, schedule an eye exam with us and let us measure your eyes in order to properly fit contacts. Let’s make this a fun and safe Halloween for everyone!