NEW YORK—With Halloween quickly approaching, many people are getting their costume plans in order—even if we’re just going to wear them to sit on the couch and watch scary movies this year. For many Halloween lovers, a great costume also involves theatrical contact lenses in order to get the perfectly spooky look—but many consumers don’t realize the dangers involved in purchasing costume contact lenses from unverified sources. As October is also Contact Lens Safety Month, there is no better time than now for ECPs to remind their patients how important it is to ensure their contacts are legitimate and safe. 

Prevent Blindness offers free information on its website regarding Contact Lens Safety Month, and the CDC has free downloadable graphics for ECPs and doctors who want to spread the word on their own practice social media, or in the office.

This week, we took a look through Instagram to see how some independents are reminding patients about safe contact lens wear.



Sirgany Eyecare in Cortland, New York, created an eye-catching graphic to get patients’ attention. Image via sirganyeyecare on Instagram.


London-based Wood Street Opticians turned up the scare factor with the image they chose to spread awareness about the dangers of wearing costume contacts. Image via wood_street_opticians on Instagram.


Retina Associates of Western New York used a cute, pumpkin-themed graphic that highlights some of the more serious complications costume contacts can cause. Image via retinawny on Instagram.



Visionaire at Sterling Ranch, located in Colorado, took the vintage aesthetic route and shared a graphic that is both informative and gorgeous. Image via vecsterlingrancheye on Instagram.


Precision Eye Group, based in Pennsylvania, used a spooky graphic from the CDC to share what a nightmare decorative contacts without a prescription can cause. Image via precisioneyegroup on Instagram.


The team at Eyes on Hayden in Scottsdale, Arizona, created a spooktacular graphic to let patients know that doctor-approved theatrical contacts are now in stock in the office. Image via eyesonhayden on Instagram.



Family Optical, on Long Island, New York, is also offering safe costume contacts this Halloween season. Image via familyopticalod on Instagram.



 Hanover, Pennsylvania-based Hemler Family Eye Care shared a family-friendly graphic from the CDC that details how decorative contact lenses can be harmful to our overall eye health.  Image via hemlerfamilyeyecare on Instagram.