Silver Lake Eye Care Center offers corrective and colored contact lens fittings in Everett, WA. The Seattle area has thousands of young Japanese anime, sci-fi, and comic book fans. Anime cosmetic lenses, and flashy, round "theatrical" contacts, are often given away between fans, illegally, at local anime events and Halloween parties. "If it doesn't correct vision, how can it hurt my eyes?" I've been asked. Beware; so-called "Lady Gaga contacts," also known as round contact lenses, can hurt your eyes after only a few hours of wear.

If you're tempted to try them without a contact lens prescription, please don't. Doctors report more acute eye infections, emergency room visits, and red eye appointments nationwide as a result. A contact lens exam and fitting may protect you from unintended damage to your precious eye sight.

I recently spoke to a young woman that tried round contacts, and they made her eyes ache within hours. Luckily, she knew that wasn't like her own RX contacts. Many young men and women try cosmetic contact lenses before knowing what to expect. Since circle contact lenses cover more of the eye's surface area, and deprive the eye of more needed oxygen; painful eye infections can develop fast. See your Everett eye care professional immediately if this happens to you.

There are many brands of approved, "Halloween" or "special effect," cosmetic contacts on the market. To investigate wearing any of the legal contact lenses available, call Dr. Lynette Sundholm's Silver Lake Eye Care Center, at 425-338-5400, and protect your beautiful eyes, first.