Halloween contact lenses can be fun and add a special look to your costume. Just make sure you do it the right way.

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES, August 25, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- People are often surprised by just how quickly Halloween comes around every year — it's almost spooky. The approaching holiday means millions will be rushing to complete their costume, which in many cases includes Halloween contact lenses. Special decorative contact lenses like demon eyes, cat eyes, and whatever else the imagination dreams up can make for a real hit at a Halloween party. But as contact lenses are medical devices, there are (of course) laws governing their prescription and distribution.

Contact lens prescription has been a sticking point for wearers and the government alike, as lenses fit a unique niche in the medical industry. If you're looking to get colored contacts for the upcoming holiday, you should know about the recent changes made to contact prescription laws.

We’ll get into those laws, but let's first take a brief background look at colored contact lenses and clear up some common misconceptions.

Contact lenses are not one size fits all.

You may not be surprised to learn that everyone's eyes are different. That includes all aspects of size, from the width of the pupil and iris to cornea thickness and anterior chamber depth. We won't bore you with the details, so here's the takeaway: Your eyes are unique, so they need contact lenses to fit the size of your eyes.

That axiom holds true for costume contacts as well as everyday ones. Think of it like a pair of shoes: If you wear the wrong size, you'll be uncomfortable and risk damage to your feet. Now recall your eyes are far more sensitive than your feet, and you'll see the point here. Wearing the right size contact requires a fitting and prescription from an eye doctor, and it's illegal to sell any contact lenses without a prescription, even for Halloween lenses.

The reason for the law

This requirement exists for good reason. Before 2004, regulations governing contact lenses were lax. This meant people could buy contact lenses, including cheap Halloween contacts, just about anywhere. This practice led to many damaged eyes from ill-fitting and poorly-made lenses and improper cleaning techniques.

Consequently, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) drafted a law in 2004 to protect contact lens wearers. The law banned selling contacts without a prescription. It was a good step in the right direction.

The prescription, however, is where things can get tricky. In the medical industry, eye doctors are among the few who sell just what they prescribe. That means many dislikes having customers fill their prescriptions off-site since they lose out on profit. Luckily, laws have changed in the United States to ensure customers aren't taken advantage of.

Contact lens prescription laws: You're covered.

As mentioned above, many eye doctors don't like customers filling their prescriptions anywhere but in their clinic. Before 2004, it was common for eye doctors to withhold the prescription so customers would be forced to buy on-site. The 2004 law stipulated that doctors had to give patients a copy of their contact lens prescription at the end of the consultation. Sounds good, right?

Well, not entirely. When a person fills a prescription off-site, their vendor must verify the prescription with the prescribing doctor if the physical prescription isn't presented. Some unscrupulous doctors took to ignoring verification requests, essentially holding prescriptions hostage.

Fortunately, this problem is addressed in the 2004 law. The updated FTC ruling mitigates this problem. Now, the prescribing doctor has eight business hours to respond to a request for verification. If they fail to respond within those eight hours, the prescription is released, and the patient can get their favorite lenses without any more hassle. Score! This is a big move to ensure fairness in the eye care industry — and makes getting decorative contacts simpler than ever.

A word of caution

If you're looking for Halloween contact lenses, you'll need to do some homework to ensure the ones you're getting are safe and well-made. There are indeed many excellent brands that provide quality lenses. Unfortunately, some websites skirt the law by selling lenses made outside the United States that aren't cleared by the FDA— and, furthermore, flat-out ignore any concept of safety. Many of these lenses come from the UK and Canada, which have far less stringent safety regulations than those in the US. Wearing these cheap, dangerous lenses can lead to permanent eye damage and even vision loss.
Look awesome while being safe.

When you're choosing Halloween contacts, be sure to go for a well-known and verified provider, like Gothika.com or WickedEyez.com. Gothika, for example, has been one of the leading brands of Halloween lenses for more than 20 years — helping people look awesome while keeping their eyes safe. Gothika sells through countless eye doctors across the USA and directly on their website. In addition to making some of the highest-quality colored contact lenses on the market, we're also able to provide and renew prescriptions for ordinary contacts. Online prescriptions are available via an online vision acuity test called Visibly and are wickedly cheap at only $6.66. These prescriptions are provided through a licensed doctor and are valid for one year.

A word about safety

Scott Smiledge makes hand-painted contact lenses for the FX television show "American Horror Story." He said that cosmetic contacts are "fun" and "can be fantastic," but they should be cautiously approached.

"Just make sure you do it the right way," Smiledge said in a video commissioned by the FDA. "Make sure that you're buying from a place that is following the rules and you're buying lenses that have been handled properly, and that your eye doctor knows about and approves of
it."

Michael Walker
VerifyMyLenses
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