5 Safety Tips for Wearing Decorative Contacts

With Halloween right around the corner it is common for people to purchase decorative contact lenses to go with their costumes.  Changing your eye color or even whiting out the entire eye gives your costume a more authentic look.  If you have ever visited a haunted house and seen a person in full costume with stage makeup and non-corrective contact lenses in their eyes, then you know how creepy and realistic they look.  It takes the fear factor to a whole new level.

Unfortunately, many people do not realize that purchasing decorative contact lenses from a street vendor, flea market or booth at a fair is not safe.  Many vendors are illegally selling the non-corrective contact lenses without a prescription from an optometrist. When purchased illegally, these contact lenses often don’t meet quality and safety standards set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which is a major concern for optometrists.

Acquire a Prescription

The most important safety tip when purchasing decorative, non-corrective contact lenses is to visit your optometrist and get a prescription.  Decorative lenses can be fun to wear but your eye health is the priority. You want to be guaranteed that the lenses you purchase are approved by the FDA.

Wash Hands

Always wash and dry your hands completely before handling your contact lenses.  This is especially important when dressing up for Halloween.  Have you ever gotten a piece of glitter in your eye?  Imagine that pain or discomfort stuck behind a contact lens being held against your eye.  When exposing your face to costume makeup and wearing a wig, it is extremely imperative to keep your hands clean when placing the contacts in your eyes or taking them out.

Clean Lenses

Always use fresh contact solution when cleaning your lenses.  Carefully use cleaning solution to rub the lenses with fingers and rinse thoroughly before soaking your lenses after use. Your optometrist will recommend the right solution for your contacts and it is best for your health that you follow their directions.

Safely Store Lenses

Always use fresh solution to clean and store your contact lenses.  Never re-use old solution.  It is not uncommon for someone to toss their contacts into their storage container inside the solution from the previous day.  After a long Halloween night you may find yourself tired and just want to clear your eyes.  However, to maintain the quality of your contacts and protect the health of your eyes you must keep them stored in fresh solution.

Get in the habit of cleaning your contact case as well.  After putting in your decorative contacts take the time to dump the solution from the storage container and wash it out by rubbing the inside with your fingers and rinse.  Let the container stand upside down to dry while you are wearing your contacts.  This will force you to add fresh solution when removing your contacts at night.

Water Exposure

Always remove your contact lenses from your eyes before exposing to water.  This tip should be followed for all contact wearers, even corrective lenses, but for those that are wearing decorative lenses with a costume you should especially be aware of this.  If you are not used to wearing contacts your eyes may get dry or itch in the beginning.  You may be tempted to rinse your eyes with water.  If you are wearing makeup you are more likely to get stuff in your eyes if you add water to your contacts while wearing them.  If you do get something in your eye – wash & dry your hands, remove your contacts, clean them with solution and then rinse your eyes.  Once your eyes feel better you can put the contacts back in.

Contact lenses are not merely a fashion or costume accessory, decorative contact lens wearers who don’t follow the guidelines for use and wear can experience symptoms such as blurred or fuzzy vision; red or irritated eyes; pain in and around the eyes or, a more serious condition where the cornea becomes inflamed, also known as keratitis. These problems can lead to significant damage to the eye’s ability to function, and even irreversible sight loss.

Back in 2011 I took my teen daughter to a Twilight Saga convention where several vendors were setup selling items.  We wanted to go all out for the Vampire Ball that evening so we purchased vampire eyes contact lenses.  Neither of us had ever worn contacts before and therefore it was a self-taught lesson in our hotel room bathroom with friends.  What was I thinking?  I had no idea it wasn’t safe.  I’m not even sure if the vendor had a license to sell contacts but I do know neither of us had a contact exam by a optometrist.

The contacts looked cool and, thankfully, I only wore them twice.  I was able to avoid any serious health risks in my eyes.  About three months later I stumbled upon the contacts in their original case tucked away in a bathroom drawer.  When I opened the case I realized the solution inside had dried up and the contacts were hard.  They quickly met the trash.

Learn more about contact lens wearing and eye safety from the American Optometric Association.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Have you ever worn decorative contact lenses? What color did you try?