How spooky contacts can lead to Halloween horror

PARTY-GOERS have been warned this Halloween about the dangers of wearing ‘spooky’ contact lenses.

In recent years coloured cosmetic lenses have been popular around Halloween and for fancy dress parties. However experts said wearing contacts that have not been approved by an optometrist can lead to infections, ulcers and loss of vision.

Optometrist and store director of Specsavers Blanchardstown, Kerril Hickey, has seen many party-goers over the years who got more than they bargained for with a pair of bad lenses.

“They come in and their vision is completely blurred and they are generally in pain as well because the eye is inflamed. Sometimes they get an infection,” he said.

“If someone comes in with that, it can be as simple as going to your GP to get an antibiotic.

“Sometimes it’s more severe and we’ve had to send them to the Mater Hospital, or the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital.”

He said anyone planning to wear party lenses should have their eyes checked first.

“If you’re going to get contact lenses, the eye needs to be checked. You need to make sure your eye is healthy enough to wear a contact lens,” he said

A 19-year-old woman in Michigan, in the US, was left partially blind after wearing zombie contact lenses at Halloween in 2015. She was later told by medics that the lens had ripped the top layer of her cornea.