Whether or not colored and designer contact lenses make people who wear them more alluring is an argument better suited for the pages of Cosmo. Its editors just might endorse bright, flaming purple eyes as a way to attract Mr. or Mrs. Right. Or they may not.
What I can say, as an eye doctor, is that there are major risks.
It’s unfair to say, “Colored contacts are dangerous.” So are kitchen knives, even marshmallows if misused. Contact lenses can be very safe and effective, as we see in our patients every day. The real problems arise largely when users get these products without prescription, and use them improperly.
By the time I become aware of a problem, patients will have irritation, ulcers, or full-blown infections requiring immediate medical, even surgical care. People have been known to lose their eye sight altogether from the improper use of these products.
When Seattle Vision Clinic fits a patient with contact lenses, we aren’t just fitting the strength of their corrective prescription. Eye shape is unique to each patient, and our precise measurements identify the shape of each eye, and contacts are ordered to fit each eye like a glove. Only better.
We also educate patients on how to use and care for their contact lenses. And as they start using them, we monitor their progress and if there are issues with their use, we know about them early, before more serious problems can arise.
When people get their hands on unregulated contacts and put them on their eyes, these contacts are more like foreign objects that irritate the eye and invite bacteria, viruses, parasites and worse. And without proper training, users of these contacts compound the problem by not caring for them properly, leading to dirty lenses full of bacteria, viruses, and you know the rest.
The fall sees a lot of these lifestyle health issues, as the pressures to impress loom heavy on students. They include eye problems due to fashion contacts, skin irritations due to perfumes and fabric allergies, food allergies due to diet changes, and so on. If the pressures are on you, do it right, as taking good care of yourself is half the allure.
