Novelty Contact Lenses Pose Serious Risks if Not Prescribed 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. (PRWEB) January 15, 2003 -- "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 1800 Jackson Street, Golden, Colo., 80401. Harper may be reached at 303-271-9644, toll-free at 1-800-537-2845 or by e-mail at info@techcolors.com. The company website is http://www.techcolors.com.
# # #
|
