Follow these 3 Crucial tips to Keep Your Eyes Safe This Halloween.
October is designated as Halloween Eye Safety Month!
(Honolulu, Hawaii) October 4, 2023—- Spooky season has officially started and as we creep closer to Halloween, we want to make sure everyone is staying safe and protected. While most people are familiar with more general Halloween safety tips, such as looking both ways before crossing the street or inspecting all candy before eating, many of us forget about eye safety! Every year during the Halloween season, thousands of people end up in the emergency room, many due to sustained eye injuries and infections from their costume accessories. In light of this, Hawaiian Eye Center is sharing 3 crucial tips that will help you avoid a real-life nightmare and stay safe this spooky season:
Consider Your Eyes’ Safety when Costume Planning!
To prevent eye injuries when planning your look this year, stay away from clothing or props with sharp edges that could easily pierce an eye and ditch any eye coverings as it could impede your vision. Another great idea for costume planning this year, is if you wear prescription lenses, find a way to incorporate it into your costume. You would be surprised how many of your favorite movie or TV series characters are fellow glasses wearers!
Don’t Risk it with Decorative Contact Lenses!
Off-market decorative, colored contact lenses can be unsterile and cause a host of serious eye problems (such as infections), eye injuries, impaired vision, and have even caused blindness in some cases. Decorative contact lenses are also thicker, more rigid, and less breathable than regular contacts, which also increases the risk of harm to your eyes and vision. Due to these added risks, it is illegal in the U.S. to sell unprescribed colored contact lenses. However, many sellers still do, and many buyers don’t know the risks when purchasing. It is imperative that if you are going to wear them, talk to your eye doctor to purchase FDA-approved prescription costume contact lenses.
Be Extra Cautious when Choosing and Applying Your Halloween Makeup!
Unfortunately, most Halloween makeup is not formulated for eye safety, and may contain harmful chemicals that can lead to symptoms like red, scaly eyelids, blood-shot eyes, or even dry eye disease, and serious long-term health conditions. When creating your Halloween makeup masterpiece this year, make sure to check your all products for harmful ingredients, as there is very little regulations for cosmetic ingredients in the U.S. Some to be aware of are: Carbon Black, BAK, Parabens, Aluminum Powder, Retinyl acetate or retinyl palmitate, Formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasing preservatives. We also recommend being extra cautious when applying metallic, glittery, or flaky eye makeup as it can cause corneal irritation and infection, especially for those who wear contact lens! It is also important to not use eye makeup older than three months, and remember, eye makeup products are recommended for individual use ONLY!
Halloween should be a time for fun and spooky celebrations. Don’t let an eye injury be the scariest part of your Halloween this year!