Novelty contact lenses pose serious risks if not prescribed and and given proper fitting by a licensed eye care professional.
Novelty contact lenses - from cat's eyes to sports team logos -- are the rage among teenagers these days, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning recently telling consumers about the serious risks of permanent eye injury from unprescribed, mass produced lenses found at flea markets, convenience stores and beach shops. The warning, issued October 21, 2002, is quoted in this release, along with Adventures In Color Technology CEO Stan Harper, a former president of the Contact Lens Society of America.
(Golden, Colo.) - "I'm not sure why the FDA hadn't taken action earlier on
this health issue," says Stan Harper, CEO of Adventures in Color Technology, in
an October 27, 2002, interview with the Fredericksburg, VA, Free Lance-Star,
"The real source of the trouble is sharing contacts. First Mary wants to try
them on, and then the next person tries them on. They don't get disinfected."
According to the FDA's warning: "Decorative contact lenses present
significant risks of blindness and other eye injury if they are distributed
without a prescription or without proper fitting by a qualified eye care
professional. FDA has received reports of corneal ulcer associated with wear of
decorative contact lenses in excess of the recommended period. Corneal ulcer can
progress rapidly, leading to internal ocular infection if left untreated.
Uncontrolled infection can lead to corneal scarring and vision impairment. In
extreme cases, this condition can result in blindness and eye loss.
"Other risks associated with use of decorative contact lenses include
conjunctivitis (an infection of the eye); corneal edema (swelling); allergic
reaction; corneal abrasion from poor lens fit; and reduction in visual acuity,
contrast sensitivity, and other visual functions, resulting in interference with
driving and other activities."
In addition to prosthetic/therapeutic
applications, Harper's company creates custom contact lenses for theatrical use
and custom novelty lenses for personal use. However, all of Adventures' lenses
are individually prescribed, designed and fit under the direction of a licensed
eye care practitioner.
According to the Fredericksburg paper, the biggest
problem to overcome is that teens think the mass- produced, novelty contacts are
cool. "I guess that falls in the same area as piercing your tongue or your
nose," Harper said in the newspaper interview, "I think they want to appear
different than the one next door. I think they want to be a little bit
outstanding."
Adventures In Color Technology, Ltd., serves eye care
practitioners both in private practice and at teaching hospitals and
universities throughout the world, developing colors and patterns for patients
and continuing research for other retinal problems. Hopefully, to soon help
patients with macular degeneration, a debilitating loss of vision as the macula
in the back of the eye becomes less and less responsive to light entering the
eye through the pupil. This condition is the leading cause of blindness in our
older population.
The company's headquarters is located at 1511
Washington Avenue, Golden, Colo., 80401. Harper may be reached at 303-271-9644,
toll-free at 1-800-537-2845 or by e-mail at e-mail protected from spam bots. The
company website is http://www.techcolors.com.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2003/1/prweb54605.htm