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Does your Halloween costume include scary eyes? Consult a health expert before dressing up

IRONWOOD — Creepy costume lenses might add a spine-tingling thrill to your Halloween costume, but wearing costume contact lenses without a prescription can lead to serious eye infections or permanent vision loss. Decorative lenses are medical devices, not costume jewelry, and should be prescribed and fitted by an eye care professional, just like regular contact lenses.

That’s why Aspirus Eye Center and the American Academy of Ophthalmology are urging people to buy decorative contact lenses only from retailers who require a prescription and sell FDA-approved products.

“A poorly fitted contact lens can easily scrape the cornea – the outer layer of the eye – making the eye more vulnerable to infection-causing bacteria and viruses,” said Dr. Dustin Wasylik, ophthalmologist at the Aspirus Eye Center in Ironwood. “Sometimes scarring from an infection is so bad, a corneal transplant is required to restore vision. The most extreme cases can even result in blindness.”

Although it is illegal to sell non-prescription contact lenses, they are available at costume shops, gas stations, corner shops, and online. Research shows that people who purchase contacts without a prescription face a 16-times greater risk of developing an infection.

Dr. Wasylik offers the following tips to help ensure your Halloween costume won’t haunt you in the long run:

• See an eye care professional to get a prescription for costume contact lenses. Packaging that claims “one size fits all” or “no need to see an eye doctor” is false. Get properly fitted by an ophthalmologist (physicians and surgeons who specialize in medical and surgical eye care) or optometrist (health care professionals who provide primary vision care).

• Properly care for contact lenses. Even if you have a prescription for contact lenses, proper care remains essential.

• Never share contacts. Pink eye isn’t a good look, even for a costume. Sharing contacts can spread germs, causing conditions such as pink eye, which is highly contagious.

• Spread the word to others about the dangers of costume contacts. Don’t let friends make the mistake of wearing costume contacts without a prescription.

The FDA oversees the safety and effectiveness of all contact lenses because they are a medical device, even the ones people wear on Halloween. It’s important that you use only FDA-approved lenses prescribed for your eyes.

To learn more ways to keep your eyes healthy, consult an eye care specialist at an Aspirus location near you. For more information, visit www.aspirus.org.

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