Hotels Near Marlins Park - Cosmetic Contacts Can Be Dangerous

Source       - http://www.coshoctontribune.com/
By             - Jessie Balmert
Category   - Hotels Near Marlins Park
Posted By  - Homewood Suites Miami

Hotels Near Marlins Park

Lady Gaga-inspired circle lenses or cat’s eye contacts might complete a Halloween look, but without a prescription, cosmetic lenses are illegal and can lead to eye infections or worse.

Federal law requires consumers to have a prescription from a licensed professional to obtain contact lenses, whether they are corrective or not. It’s illegal to sell cosmetic lenses, which the FDA monitors as medical devices, over-the-counter, said Nancy Manns, executive director of the Ohio Optical Dispensers Board.

Since mid-2012, the board’s investigator has served 15 businesses with cease and desist orders, warning them to stop selling cosmetic contacts. The businesses range from a Mexican grocery store in Defiance to a wig shop in Lima and a gas station in Columbus.

Most businesses stop after receiving a letter, but those that persist can face an injunction from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and a fine, Manns said. With one investigator to review complaints about licenses in addition to roguecat-eye contacts, many businesses continue to sell lenses unchecked.

Without a prescription, the contacts can be dangerous. Using lenses not properly fitted to an eye can cause pain, infection, cornea ulcers and blindness, said Sherry Williams, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness Ohio.

Popular among teenagers and during Halloween, the lenses can cause irrevocable harm within a few hours, Williams said. Across the U.S., an estimated 200 people each year develop serious eye infections that warrant surgery because of improper use of contacts, according to Prevent Blindness Ohio.

“No amount of time is a safe amount of time to wear a black-market contact,” Williams said. “When you’re 13, 14 or 16 and having a corneal transplant, your visual quality is going to be impacted for life.”

Most cosmetic contact lenses are approved for use if obtained through an eye doctor. One exception is circle lenses, popularized by Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” music video because the FDA has not approved them for use.

“I’m certain (Lady Gaga) had no clue, but certainly children don’t understand that, and they want to emulate the celebrity,” Williams said.