Buyer Beware: Optometrists Warn Consumers of Illegal Sales of Contact Lenses

With the arrival of the summer season, there is little doubt vendors will again be out in force, trying to take advantage of unsuspecting teens by selling them illegal colored contact lenses.

Illegal sales of cosmetic, colored lenses are problematic year-round, but particularly during the summer months, when boardwalk, street and flea market vendors, hair and tanning salons target young people. Of particular concern is that the lenses are sold illegally to teen-agers, who often receive little or no instruction on how to use them properly. As a result, young people develop dangerous eye infections, and in some cases, suffer irreversible damage to their eyesight.

Federal law forbids anyone other than an optometric physician or other licensed eye care professional from selling contact lenses without a patient prescription. Unfortunately, every year unwitting young consumers develop painful, debilitating eye conditions after wearing nonprescriptive cosmetic lenses.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• Contact Lenses
• Illegal Sale
• Eyes
• Vision
• Optometry
• Optometrist
• NJSOP

[jtrotterb]

Contact lenses can cause infections. I am an optometrist and have seen a few patients get corneal ulcers causing scarring which have resulted in permanent vision loss. One patient of mine was 20/20 and after an infection caused from contacts he got a corneal scar which caused a decrease in vision down to 20/80. Contact lenses are a medical device that are only legally available through eye doctors. I have seen them being sold at beauty supply stores but that is illegal for a good reason.

[daylatefriend88]

She's a lying bureaucrat. The only reason that optometrists are saying unprescribed contact lenses are dangerous, is because they lose money from people don't purchase the actual lenses from them. OPTOMETRISTS WON'T MAKE ANY MONEY IF PEOPLE BUY THEM FROM OUTSIDE SOURCES. Contacts aren't dangerous in any way if you soak and cleanse them every day in contact solution. I hate liars.