BE “EYE SAFE” THIS HALLOWEEN

At Halloween there is a higher risk to our eye health and general safety due to the following:

· The use of cosmetic contact lenses to change eye colour or pattern

· Makeup used for costumes

· Costume apparel or accessories that may be harmful to children’s eyes

· Street safety concerns due to more children being out after dark

All types of contact lenses are considered medical devices that can cause harm if improperly used. This includes cosmetic contact lenses. At MVO we do carry several brands of contact lenses that change eye colour, but our doctors do not provide or recommend “Costume themed” contact lenses due to their questionable safety profile.

Be sure to only use contact lenses that are fit and supervised by your MVO optometrist. Even short-term use of contact lenses that are improperly fit or contaminated could cause damage to your eyes (including serious infection or injury).

Applying special makeup around the eyes can cause infection or injury. Glitter and other stick-on particles may become lodged within the outer layers of the eyes or under the eyelids and become difficult to remove. Only approved eye-liner or eye shadow should be applied to the eyelash area (no other types of makeup such as blush or lip-liner to add a red colour around the eyes should be used). Refer to this link to make sure you are not attempting to use any product with a harmful additive that may have been recalled by Health Canada. Always use only hypo-allergenic products.

Be careful with costume accessories with sharp or pointy ends (eg. toy swords) that could cause an eye injury. Masks should be adjusted so they don’t block vision.

Adding lights or reflective tape to costumes will increase visibility while your kids are out trick-or-treating. Providing them with flashlights or LED lights will help reduce the chance of tripping and falling in dark areas.

Source: https://opto.ca/health-library/halloween-safety