FDA: Halloween Contact Lenses Could Cause Blindness

If you're thinking of suiting up for Halloween better beware of pairing your costume with colorful contact lenses. The FDA says these may have harmful effects on the eyes.

There is nothing wrong with wearing contact lenses to add more fright to your Halloween look, but be sure you aren't placing the illegal ones on your eyes. These could cause serious damage to your vision.

To help ban these fake and illegal lenses, the U.S. FDA partnered up with the Customs and Border Protection, and the Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations to seize fake and illegal contact lenses that do not have FDA approval, Fox News said.

The officials part of the mission "Operation Double Vision" recommend consumers to avoid buying their contacts from novelty shops or any other vendors that aren't requiring consumers for any prescription. The report also noted that this new operation serves as a warning to buyers that it is considered illegal to buy contact lenses without an ophthalmologist's or an optometrist's prescription.

So far, several stores and retailers have been keeping in step with this legal guideline. Responsible contact lens sellers, like Susanna Bethke of Artistic Costumes, refuse to sell any of their eye products to buyers who cannot show any legal prescription, CBS Local Baltimore reports.

Dr. Ryan Beveridge, along with other experts, added that when contact lenses are improperly fit, it can scratch and irritate the cornea. Lens wearers also often commit the error of sleeping with their contact lenses on. Once an abrasion happens on the eye while the wearer is sleeping, this can lead to the build up of further bacteria.

FDA optometrist Dr. Bernard Lepri also told CBS News that such infections can grow fast and result to greater damage. He added that it can even lead to something worse, like corneal ulcers which can result to blindness.

FDA recommends that each consumer should go through an eye exam first before purchasing and wearing contact lenses this season. It's always better to be safe.