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Are Coloured Contacts Safe?

Arief Salim

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February 21, 2022

• Eye Health
• Healthy living

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Are Coloured Contacts Safe? Coloured contacts are contact lenses that are tinted, hence enabling you to temporarily change the colour of your eyes. In this article, we explore whether the use of these coloured contacts is safe.

Two common types of coloured contacts

• Prescription colored contacts adjust your eye colour and mitigate myopia (nearsightedness), hypermetropia (farsightedness) or even astigmatism (an imperfection in the curvature of your eye).
• Non-prescription colored contacts only alter your eye colour only and do not contain lens power to address vision problems.

That being said, regardless of the type of coloured contacts you want or need, your eye doctor needs to conduct a professional fitting and issue a prescription for these lenses. Put simply, a prescription is necessary for coloured contact lenses regardless of your need for vision correction. All contact lenses, coloured or not, are deemed as medical devices and thus could harm your eyes if they are not properly fitted, worn and taken care of.

As with other types of contact lenses, coloured contacts have to be properly taken care of.

Are coloured contact lenses safe?

As long as your contacts have an accompanying doctor’s prescription, are properly fitted, worn and maintained, they can be worn safely.

If you decide to wear coloured contacts, simply follow your eye doctor’s instructions on the recommended duration for contact lens use as well as advice on how to maintain them. If you want to change your eye colour only for special occasions like weddings and birthday parties, you can consider using daily disposable colour contacts.

Bear in mind that not every kind of coloured contacts available for sale is safe for use. For example, black sclera contacts, which provide more dramatic eye colour changes, can cause irritation to your eyes and affect your vision. Also, if you wear coloured contacts that are not properly fitted to your eye measurements, you risk suffering from bacterial infections as well as corneal abrasions and ulcers. Your eyes might feel uncomfortable or even painful if you do not wear contact lenses that are medically prescribed, properly fitted and certified safe-for-use.

Therefore, it would be imprudent if you buy coloured contact lenses from online anonymous sources or unqualified retailers without a proper prescription and fitting. Rather, when shopping for a suitable pair of coloured contact lenses, look to the established brands and consult your optometrist before deciding on a colour changing product with a prescription. Book your appointment with your optometrist to have your eyes checked and get a prescription before purchasing coloured contacts safely with the planoApp.

References

All About Vision. 2022. Color Contact Lenses – Choosing the Right Colored Contacts. [online] Available at: <https://www.allaboutvision.com/color-contact-lenses/> [Accessed 26 January 2022].

Healthline. 2022. Colored Contact Lenses: What to Look for, Where to Shop & More. [online] Available at: <https://www.healthline.com/health/colored-contact-lenses#pros-cons> [Accessed 26 January 2022].