Posted by: Eye Health Northwest in General Eye Health on October 6, 2022
October is Halloween Safety Month, and the American Academy of Ophthalmology wants to ensure that you stay safe while having fun. These precautions for kids, teens, and adults will help you preserve your eyesight.
Keep reading to learn what your concerns should be during Halloween Safety Month!
Avoid Non-Prescription Cosmetic Lenses
While it’s fun to change your look with a Halloween costume, don’t risk your eyesight with costume contact lenses. These types of lenses are designed to change how your eye looks and may be sold as cosmetic lenses.
Contact lenses are medical devices that require a prescription. They need to be properly fitted by an eye-care professional.
Without a prescription, the lens you buy can rub, scratch, or irritate your eyes and cause permanent damage to your cornea.
How Cosmetic Lenses Can Damage Your Eyes
Retailers that sell contacts without a prescription are breaking the law. Cosmetic contact lenses aren’t sold with the same safeguards that prescription contact lenses provide.
For this reason, there’s no guarantee that they are sterile when you put them in your eye. Cosmetic contact lenses often rely on toxic chemicals to create the decorative effects and vivid coloring.
Previous studies have shown some lenses to contain dangerous materials such as chlorine and iron. Their irregular surfaces can irritate your cornea, leading to corneal ulcers or keratitis.
The other issue with cosmetic or costume contacts is infection. Non-sterile contact lenses can introduce bacteria, viruses, and amoebas into your eye, increasing your vulnerability to serious eye infections such as keratitis.
It may sound like an urban legend, but the AAO reports that there have been instances where cosmetic contact lens wearers experience vision loss due to their cosmetic lenses.
Eyelash Extension Safety Tips
Be equally careful when it comes to cosmetic items that come in contact with the eye, like false eyelash extensions. These can cause allergic reactions and other unwanted symptoms such as swelling, redness, and eye irritation.
Eye Makeup Safety Tips
While everyday makeup is usually safe for your eyes, cosmetic, decorative eye makeup worn for Halloween can cause problems for your eyes. Avoid metallic, glitter, or flaky makeup that can get in your eye and cause abrasions.
Also, never share eye makeup, and remove all eye makeup before you go to bed.
Other Costume Safety Tips
Trick-or-treating often involves walking from home to home, crossing streets, and climbing stairs. Costumes that are too big or too long, drag on the ground, or have a lot of fabric or bulk can cause tripping hazards.
Masks, whether they’re partial or full-face masks, can limit your sight. Test them out and enlarge the eye holes if necessary so you know you’ll be able to see clearly without obstruction.
If you’re wearing a costume that involves pointed objects such as swords, fake guns, spears, or any other sharp end, keep the tips lowered, so you don’t come in contact with the face or the eyes.
At EyeHealth Northwest, we want you and your family to have a fun and safe Halloween holiday!
Do you want to learn more ways to keep your eyes and vision healthy? Schedule an appointment at EyeHealth Northwest in Portland, OR, today!
