Are Coloured Contact Lenses Safe?
Costume contact lenses, also known as cosmetic or decorative contact lenses, are contact lenses that change how your eyes look. These contact lenses can make your eyes look different in many ways, from changing your eye’s color or pupil shape to giving cartoon or film character effects. Common examples are blackout contacts, black sclera contact lenses, cat eyes, and zombie eye contacts. They can be made with or without vision correction. Some people often wonder if wearing coloured contact lenses is safe for your eyes. At Mountain Eye Care, you can find contacts with colour that can change your appearance but still provide you with vision correction. In this blog, we talk about whether or not it is safe for your eyes to wear coloured contact lenses.
Click here to make an appointment at Mountain Eye Care today!
What Damage to the Eye is Possible with Coloured Contact Lenses?
Non-prescription costume contacts can cut, scratch and infect your eye if they don’t fit exactly right. Mis-sized lenses can cause corneal abrasions, corneal ulcers and potentially blinding painful bacterial infections like keratitis. Costume or theatrical contact lenses also might let less oxygen through to the eye, because the paints and pigments used to add color make the lenses thicker and less breathable. Treating these injuries can require eye surgery, like a corneal transplant. Even then, treatment doesn’t always work. People have been blinded by costume contact lenses. If you want to use theatrical contact lenses for a costume or to change your eye color more subtly, you have to get a prescription from an eye care professional.
Are Prescription Coloured Contact Lenses Safe?
Contact lenses are medical devices that require a commitment to proper wear and care by the wearer. When people use contact lenses of any kind, it is important that they understand the risks. Even under the best supervision, injury and infections can occur with any contact lenses. After you have been to an 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.
Coloured Contact Lenses can Help Correct Vision Issues
Most color enhancing lenses are available in both plano and corrective styles. Corrective color enhancing lenses can treat most common refractive errors including myopia, hyperopia, and presbyopia. Recently, color-enhancing lenses that can treat mild to moderate astigmatism have also hit the market. Still, it is imperative that you have an eye exam done and obtain a prescription for your coloured contacts. Your vision specialist at Mountain Eye Care can then get you fitted with your contact lenses.
If you are looking for more information about coloured contact lenses and if they are right for you, then we suggest that you make an appointment at Mountain Eye Care today!
Click here to find our contact information, schedule an appointment, or to speak with a staff member.
