Dangers Of Decorative Halloween Contact Lenses
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Cat eyes or red like a devil are some popular looks for Halloween. Decorative contact lenses are big sellers for the spooky holiday, but they can cause some scary damage.
"It was excruciating pain," said Laura Butler, who used non-corrective lenses to turn her brown eyes blue. One sliced her cornea, causing a viral infection. She was driving with her 3-year-old son when she suddenly lost her vision.
"It felt like I had been cut with something very sharp," said Laura.
"An infection in the cornea is a very, very unpleasant thing to have because it is very painful, and then in addition, the infection can cause scarring on the cornea, which will permanently block your vision," said Dr. Carol Karp, an Ophthalmologist.
Doctors say contacts can become dangerous when they're not properly fitted to someone's specific eye shape.
"One size does not fit all. Even though the lens does not correct your vision, your eye shape is very different from the next person," said Dr. Thomas Steinemann with the American Academy of Ophthalmology. He says the problems usually happen when lenses are sold on the internet or in novelty stores.
"It's more than a piece of costume jewelry. This is a medical device," said Dr. Steinemann.
Federal law requires a prescription for contacts, even decorative ones. But they're routinely sold illegally.
We went in to a store undercover and asked the clerk, "Do you have to have a prescription for these?"
It was easy to find decorative lenses being sold with no prescriptions, fittings, or medical supervision.
The sales clerk told us, "They're safe to use, we have tons of people buy them all the time."
"I'm disappointed more than anything. We're still seeing patients through our emergency room with urgent and emergency eye problems related to over-the-counter wear of these lenses," said Dr. Steinemann.
Laura has started to re-gain her vision, but it's still blurry.
"The doctor ultimately told me the result of that kind of injury could be permanent vision loss," said Laura.
The fine for illegally selling decorative lenses is $11,000. Eye doctors say they can prescribe contacts for temporary cosmetic use for a safe Halloween look.
Reported By: Stephanie Stahl, CBS 3
