Whether you love her or hate her, no one can deny Lady Gaga’s extraordinary impact upon the music and fashion world. Thousands of adoring fans across the globe have followed in her platform-heeled footsteps by donning blonde wigs, leotards and feathered headdresses. However, be warned: one of her latest fashion trends has recently been reported to cause damage to devoted fans’ eyes.
Circle contact lenses (cosmetic contact lenses that enlarge the appearance of the iris by extending the colored part of the eye over the white of the eye) have grown in popularity as fans have clamored to mimic the doe-eyed look Gaga displays in her music video “Bad Romance.” Despite the fact that purchasing contacts without prescriptions is illegal in the US, young women have been purchasing them online from Japan, Korea and Singapore, where they originated in popularity due to their anime-like quality.
While they may look appealing, the FDA cautions consumers from purchasing and using decorative contact lenses that have not been prescribed and fitted by an eye doctor. By doing so, patients put themselves at risk for multiple eye problems: corneal swelling and ulcers due to contacts that are too tight and redness and irritation due to contacts that are too loose. The most serious danger from these contacts is the risk of infection – uncontrolled infection can lead to scarring of the cornea, vision impairment, and in some extreme cases can result in blindness.
Gaga is popular for her wild, risky fashion sense, but circle contacts are a trend that might be a little too harsh on the eyes. Take advice from the CDC, which tells costume-wearers to lower their risk for serious eye injury by not wearing decorative contact lenses. In fact, why not skip out on contact lenses completely with LASIK? Perfect vision and healthy eyesight is more than a trend, it’s timeless and far less outlandish.
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Sources:
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jul/14/news/la-heb-lady-gaga-contacts-20100714
http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/Safety/AlertsandNotices/PublicHealthNotifications/UCM062171
http://www.cdc.gov/family/halloween/
http://newsfeed.time.com/2010/07/07/bad-romance-lady-gaga-fans-rush-to-buy-dangerous-contact-lenses/
