Halloween party lenses reminder

Eyecare organisations are hoping the cancellation of Halloween fancy dress parties due to Covid-19 could prevent a seasonal uptick in sight-threatening eye infections caused by the misuse of novelty cosmetic contact lenses.

Luke Stevens-Burt, chief executive of the British Contact Lens Association (BCLA), said: “By sharing coloured contact lenses, young people are playing Russian roulette with their eye health and putting their sight at risk. It’s a problem that we have seen escalate in recent years but there’s a chance the ongoing pandemic could actually help stem the tide this year. The mass cancelling of parties and organised events may well result in someone’s sight being saved, but we cannot rely on this alone. The risk is reduced and not eliminated.”

The BCLA has re-issued an infographic highlighting the dangers of buying cosmetic lenses from unregistered sellers and warning of the potential consequences to eye health, which can be found on its website here.

ABDO president, Jo Holmes, commented: “Sadly this is an ongoing problem that we need to highlight every year. Education is the key, and promoting the dangers of wearing these lenses that are bought off the shelf or on the internet, which are sight-threatening, is a lesson that we need to keep ramming home constantly.

“The pandemic will reduce parties this year, so that is good news, but I fear this style of dressing up will become more and more popular other times of the year too. So within practice, we need to continually remind our patients about the importance of properly fitted lenses and the correct care of them.”

Download the ABDO EyecareFAQ Halloween infographic here.