WARNING: As Halloween approaches, don’t let illegal contact lenses turn Halloween into a nightmare. The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) is reminding people not to buy and wear non-prescription decorative contact lenses – contacts – to avoid a true Halloween horror story – blindness. Over-the-counter glasses may be incompletely sterilized and can cause serious eye problems, turning a fun-filled Halloween into a nightmare night. Contacts, also known as cosmetic contact lenses, decorative contact lenses, or toric contact lenses, are available in a wide variety of colors and styles to meet the needs of people with variable pupils. Since 2005, when there were reports of eye injuries and infections caused by these lenses, the FDA classified contact lenses as medical devices and restricted their sale to licensed professionals, effectively eliminating the sale of non-prescription contact lenses. However, they are still available online, at convenience stores, flea markets, and more. Here are four horrors of non-prescription decorative contact lenses: 1. Abrasion: Because illegal contact lenses do not fit the wearer’s eyes, they can easily scratch the surface structure of the eye. Symptoms of corneal abrasion, on the other hand, are: eye redness, eye pain, photophobia, increased secretion and foreign body sensation. 2, eye pain: such movie star eyes can lead to corneal ulcers appear similar to corneal abrasion eye pain and other symptoms. Sometimes the ulcers look like white spots on the colored part of the eye (peripheral area of the cornea), but when they scar, they can sometimes affect vision for a long time. 3. Infection: Both corneal abrasions and ulcers can cause wounds in the eye, making it more susceptible to bacterial, viral, and amoebic infections. All these microbial infections are collectively called keratitis. Studies have shown that cosmetic contact lens wearers are 16 times more likely to develop keratitis. Herpes simplex infections are recurrent and difficult to eradicate, and many bacteria are resistant to common antibiotics. 4. Blindness: A more severe history of decorative contact lens wear may present complications that require surgical intervention or risk of blindness. If the infection leads to extensive corneal scarring, causing distortion or clouding of the cornea, a corneal transplant may be needed to restore vision. The AAO’s clinical spokesperson said that he or she is outraged at the thought that young people who buy such glasses on Halloween could develop infections and end up blind; there is a reason why the FDA controls the sale of contact lenses, as there have been cases of serious, irreversible vision damage from illegal contact lenses.