What You Need To Know About Costume Contact Lenses
Posted on: 17 October 2017
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Many people think costume contact lenses are a great way to add pizzazz to a costume. However, many people obtain these lenses from costume shops without knowing of the potential dangers. Before you use non-prescription contact lenses, you should be aware of the risks so you can make an educated decision about your health.
Oxygen Depravation
Your eyes need oxygen to maintain their health. When you purchase non-prescription lenses for a costume, you're getting lenses that may, or may not, fit your eye. This means that there's no guarantee that your corneas are receiving the proper amount of oxygen. When your cornea becomes oxygen deprived it encourages blood vessels to grow in your cornea. These vessels grow because they're desperately trying to deliver oxygen to your eye. Once they start growing, these vessels don't go away, they can only shrink.
As your cornea loses oxygen exposure from the lenses, your eyes become less sensitive, which means you may not be able to tell if the lenses are hurting you. Your lenses will begin to hug your eye more closely and any imperfections in the lenses may rub against your eye.
Corneal Abrasion
Let's say you pick up a pair of pretty contacts at your local party store. You put them in and you notice they slip and slide around your eye, but you figure that a few hours won't hurt anything. As the night progresses your eyes are red and watery. As the party goes on, the poor-fitting contact lenses move around your eyes, scratching your cornea as they move.
These scratches are actually cuts known as corneal abrasions. The cornea is responsible for filtering light into your eye, and when these scratches begin to scar it can leave you with vision loss. Scars in your cornea become opaque and cloud your vision.
Corneal Transplants
For some people, the damage from poor-fitting contact lenses can happen in a matter of hours. When your corneas become severely scarred, you may wind up needing eye surgery services, like a corneal transplant. The goal of a corneal transplant is to restore the vision you've lost after a poor-fitting contact has scarred your cornea severely. A corneal transplant can also help restore vision that was lost due to an infection scarring the cornea.
Contact lenses are first and foremost needed as medical devices. When used improperly they could severely harm your vision. If you're interested in costume contact lenses you should speak with your eye doctor. They can help you find a pair that works with your eyes and fit them specifically for you.