Blog

There’s no doubt that dressing up is one of the best bits of Halloween. For one night, you get to let your imagination run wild and can transform into whatever character, or indeed creature, you desire. As well as carefully choosing a costume, many people decide to add scary contact lenses to complete their Halloween outfit. These contacts enable you to turn your eyes all sorts of unnatural colors, from luminous yellows and greens to blood red. However, just like regular contact lenses, not all Halloween contacts are created equally. In fact, some could potentially be dangerous and harmful to your eyes. Here are our top tips for staying safe when purchasing Halloween contact lenses.
 

Always buy contacts from a reputable source

One of the most important things that you can do to protect your eyes is to make sure that you always purchase your contact lenses from a reputable source, and this includes any that you might be considering for Halloween. It can be tempting to purchase cheap lenses online, but realistically, you don’t know how they have been made or what they are made from. Putting them into your eyes could risk serious harm, such as scratches or infection. We recommend that you always buy any sort of contact lenses directly from a registered optician.
 

Ensure that the lenses work with your prescription

Even if you are only wearing contacts for one evening, it’s essential to make sure that you can see clearly while doing so. Any impaired vision has the potential to be dangerous. For example, you may not have the visual clarity needed to drive safely or negotiate steps without your prescription lenses. Be sure to only choose contacts that are available in your prescription, or commit to wearing glasses, whether they go with your outfit or not!
 

Don’t share with your friends

Halloween contact lenses need to be taken just as seriously as regular ones. You wouldn’t share your normal contacts with friends, so don’t be tempted to share your spooky ones either. Even if you clean them, there is a chance that there will be residual bacteria that you could transmit from your eyes to theirs or vice versa, and this could put you at risk of developing a painful and debilitating infection. If you want to transform your eyes this Halloween, stick to using your own.
 

Don’t fall asleep wearing your contacts

If you party hard this Halloween, you could be forgiven for feeling shattered at the end of the night. Nevertheless, whatever you do, don’t fall asleep while wearing your contact lenses. No contacts should be slept in unless they are specifically designed to do so (such as corneal reshaping contacts). Instead, wearing them overnight will cause your eyes to become dry, irritated, and uncomfortable.
 

If you would like more advice when it comes to staying safe when it comes to purchasing Halloween contact lenses, don’t hesitate to speak to our experienced, knowledgeable, and not at all frightening optical care team!​​​​​​​