Save yourself a fright this Halloween: costume contact lenses can damage vision

Loyalist pre-health science student Sam Marks says she likes her costume contact lenses but they are hard to wear – especially for someone who has not worn contacts before. Photo by Lori-Anne Little, QNet News

By Lori-Anne Little

BELLEVILLE – Changing your look with a blink of an eye is easy to do with costume contact lenses, but the Canadian Ophthalmological Society says they could seriously damage your vision.

Coloured contacts, or costume contacts, are a common tool in the professional makeup industry for changing a person’s eye colour.

As Halloween grew closer this year, Instagram and YouTube were flooded with frightening and fierce makeup looks with thing in common: coloured contact lenses. Harmless as these lenses look, when they haven’t been properly sized and fitted by an optometrist, they pose several serious risks to your vision.

Cuts or scratches to the top layer of the eyeball, allergic reactions, impaired vision and infections are all possible outcomes, according to the ophthalmological society, the Canadian authority on eye and vision care.

“These types of conditions can lead to blindness or vision loss in young people or old,” Dr. Allan Slomovic, president of the society’s board of directors,” says in a posting on the organization’s website. “No one should purchase, and then wear, cosmetic lenses directly from a retail outlet without a prescription and professional oversight. The risks are far too high.”

In a response to a Facebook post from QNet News, former Loyalist accounting student Quinlan Smith shared her friend’s experience with cheap costume contact lenses. They fused to his eye, she said.

Even though the contacts can be dangerous for your eyes, pictures of people wearing them are flooding social media because more and more major makeup influencers are using them in tutorials.  Changing your eye colour to match a makeup look is now a major trend in the online makeup community, says Michelle Phan, a beauty influencer, says in her blog.

But makeup influencers typically have custom-made coloured contacts that are much safer for your eyes then the ones you can buy at costume store. They’re also much pricier.

A box of non-prescription contact lenses might only cost you $15, whereas prescription ones are at least twice the price, plus you have to wait for them to come in. For people who are looking to change their eye colour, the ophthalmological society wants you to remember to prioritize safety over convenience.

Despite the concerns, Loyalist students are getting in on the trend for Halloween.

“I’ve seen so many other people wearing them, and every time I see them I think, ‘Yup, this year those are going to be on me,’ ” pre-health science student Sam Marks told QNet News.

For Halloween, Marks is wearing a pair of contacts that make her eyes look grey.