Are Halloween contact lenses safe?
Colored, decorative, and special effect contact lenses can be a seemingly perfect addition to your Halloween costume. They’re available in almost any imaginable color or design—sounds like a dream, right?
But are Halloween contacts safe? As fun as they can be, decorative contact lenses can pose significant risks to eye health if they are not obtained from a reputable source and fit correctly. These lenses can cause allergic reactions, infections, cuts or scratches on your eyeballs, decreased vision, and blindness.
Non-prescription vs. prescription Halloween contacts
Whether or not these flashy contacts have the power to correct vision, any decorative or nondecorative lens can be legally acquired only with a doctor’s prescription. Many websites, beauty supply stores, and Halloween stores may advertise that they have decorative Halloween contacts for sale without a prescription, but those sellers can face serious fines and penalties for the illegal sale of contacts. The lenses sold without a prescription are often not FDA approved and could be made of materials that have not been adequately tested on human eyes. Yikes. The good news is there is a way to get safe Halloween contact lenses! Check out our ExpressExam to see if you qualify for a colored contacts prescription. Obtaining a prescription will keep your eyes safe, healthy, and happy.
Thinking about dressing up as Black Widow? Try green contacts! Or maybe you’d like brown contacts to complete your Jack Sparrow costume. Whichever color you choose, be sure to get Halloween prescription contacts for your eyeballs’ sake.
Colored Contacts Safety Tips
Whether you’re wearing prescription costume contacts or your regular contacts, keep these tips in mind to safely wear lenses on Halloween (or any time of the year):
- Replace the contacts when recommended.
- Do not sleep in them.
- Carefully wash your hands before handling the lenses.
- Clean and store them with the appropriate multi-purpose contact lens solution. Never reuse the same solution to store or clean the lenses. Do not use water, saliva, saline or eye drops to clean or store the lenses.
- Do not swim or wear contact lenses in a hot tub.
Happy Halloween!
Original published date: 1/24/2020
Updated: 9/14/2022