Halloween’s around the corner and many are on the search for putting together the most creative costume. This is also the time of year when many teens and young adults ask about cosmetic colour contact lenses to pull their whole outfit together. In Canada, prescription contact lenses are considered as class II medical devices and therefore need to be prescribed by your eyecare professional. Ironically, cosmetic non-prescription lenses are not, and therefore the products are not regulated by Health Canada.
Health Canada has warned the public that cosmetic lenses are not and “accessory” but are medical devices that pose a risk to your eye health and vision when not being properly fit and followed by and eyecare professional. They mention risks like corneal swelling and corneal ulcers in their article.
Here’s the link to the Health Canada article if you want to read the details:
http://www.eyesite.ca/english/press/coloured-contact-lenses.html
I’m happy to say that the patient education is working and the bylaw to classify cosmetic lenses as medical devices has been presented to the legislation earlier this month. Check out the details on what’s happening in Ottawa:
http://www.canada.com/health/Ontario+pushes+regulation+cosmetic+contact+lenses/5501846/story.html
Please have a safe and fun Halloween and consult your eyecare professional if you want the “Zombie eye look”!