For some years now, tricks and disguises for Halloween have been very fashionable, including colored or decorative contact lenses for vampire eyes, werewolves or zombies that many people think don’t hurt their eyes. Is this true or false? Professor Paolo Vinciguerra, director of the Ophthalmic Center of Humanitas and professor at Humanitas University, answers this question.
“False. Contact lenses, even if used for Halloween disguises, should never be considered only decorative because they are always a surgical medical device and for this reason they must be applied to the eyes with the necessary indications and precautions – explains the expert. Since colored contact lenses for Halloween can also cause serious eye problems, it is important to check their suitability for fitting by means of an eye examination. In fact, if the subject’s eyes are not suitable for contact lens fitting, underestimating this information could lead to the risk of damage to the visual system even if the lenses are worn only to complete the mask for Halloween. During the examination, the contact lens physician establishes the parameters to identify the radii of curvature of the contact lenses that do not induce eye deformities, as well as providing guidance to apply them safely avoiding infections. In fact, when fitting contact lenses for Halloween but also for contact lenses for the purpose of sight correction, hygiene is essential to avoid serious infections because the hands, liquids and manipulations of contact lenses can be a vehicle for dangerous germs that are pathogenic to the eyes”.
