Decorative contact lenses have become a popular addition to Halloween costumes among many people, what many don’t know is without a prescription these lenses are not only illegal but extremely unsafe.
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Most symptoms will clear up in a day or two, but an infection caused by contact lenses can last much longer, he said. “To buy or sell them without a prescription is illegal”, Special Agent Lorin Alaine said.
Along with the Operation Fright Night investigation, the state Public Health department warns Halloween-costume purchasers to beware of novelty contact lenses that exclusively change the appearance of the eye.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Bettinelli says the lenses were being sold openly at 10 stores in Southern California. Dr, David Newman, an optometrist with Englewood Eye Care, was here to tell us about the dangers and what we should do instead. The teen indicated that her peripheral vision bothered her. The next morning, Carpenter found her daughter’s eye swollen shut.
According to the Federal Drug Administration, fashion lenses are regulated medical devices just like other drugs.
But after wearing them for a few hours at a school event, she had trouble getting them out and her vision started to bother her, Leah’s mother, Dawn Carpenter, told the paper. And if you do have prescribed lenses, there are plenty of measures you can take to make sure you don’t suffer from infections or any other future eye problems.
Health officials are warning, however, that using decorative lenses without a valid prescription can cause serious harm that could persist beyond today.
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The Detroit Free Press reports that at first, Leah Carpenter could only see shadows out of her right eye, but she has started to regain a few of her vision.
