I get the need to make your Halloween costume over the top awesome every year. If you're gonna do it, do it up big, right? I also get that a vampire, zombie or cat costume just doesn't feel complete if you don't have the red, white, or cat-eye costume contacts as the finishing touch, but ophthalmologists are warning consumers to think about your eyes before you buy.

The Chicago Tribune reports that costume contacts can cause "serious eye infections and even vision loss".

Dr. Michelle Andreoli, a spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology, recently told The Trib;

If they don’t fit well, or if they’re not used appropriately, or if they’re not cleaned, the eye itself can undergo some stress that can lead to problems.

Costume lenses should be prescribed and fitted by a professional, just like regular lenses. These lenses can be especially thick, Andreoli noted. “Not enough oxygen moves through the lens, and without adequate oxygen coming into the eye, the eye loses its oxygen supply, and it can lead to cell death and to infection

Umm, no thank you.

If decorative lenses are an absolute must, and your Halloween will just be ruined without them, make sure they are prescribed and fitted by a professional, and by all means, DON'T use the ones your friend wore last year! Unless you like getting nasty eye infections...

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