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Those Using Illegal Circle Lenses to Get ?Lady Gaga? Eyes are Placing Their Vision at Risk

By Paul Napoli

July 10, 2010

Contact lenses called circle lenses are becoming popular in the United States, especially with teenagers and young adults, but can damage eyes and cause blindness.

Circle lenses have been in the news a lot recently since musical artist Lady Gaga released her music video 'Bad Romance' that portrayed the artist with huge eyes generated by computer special effects. People wear circle lenses as a cosmetic enhancement to achieve a doll-like or doe-eyed appearance similar to Japanese anime or cartoon illustration. They make the iris of the wearer's eye appear larger because they have a color or pattern that extends beyond the natural iris and covers part of the whites of the eye.

Released in Asian markets in 2009 and popular in Japan and South Korea, circle lenses are illegal in the United States.

In 2005, the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act was amended to classify all contact lenses—including decorative ones—as medical devices under the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) regulatory authority. The FDA requires that contact lenses only be sold by an eye care professional's prescription. Contact lenses distributed without appropriate involvement by eye care professionals are misbranded devices under this law.

Decorative contact lenses such as circle lenses carry the same risks as those that correct vision, including conjunctivitis (pink eye), corneal ulcers, corneal abrasion and vision impairment or blindness. The FDA has produced a consumer guide and video warning of the dangers of decorative contact use.

Americans are purchasing illegal and potentially dangerous circle lenses on the internet for between $20 and $40. They come in prescription strengths and as zero-powered non-corrective lenses

'I've noticed a lot of girls in my town have started to wear them a lot,' a 16-year-old girl who owns 22 pairs of circle lenses told The New York Times.

'Consumers who purchase lenses without a prescription or without consultation from an eye doctor put themselves at risk of serious bacterial infection, or even significant damage to the eye's ability to function, with the potential for irreversible sight loss,' said Dr. Barry Eiden, chair of the American Optometric Association's (AOA) Contact Lens and Cornea Section.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Paul Napoli

Full post as published by New York City Personal Injury Lawyer on July 10, 2010 (boomark / email).