Colour lenses don’t always change your vision: only the appearance of your eyes. They are a fashion item and are available in a wide range of colours, patterns and looks.

• Like normal contacts, they are soft plastic lenses that sit on the surface of the eye and can damage the surface if they are not properly fitted or used correctly. Most require daily cleaning and many can’t be left in the eye for long periods.

So if you buy some novelty or contact colour lenses, you need to follow these basic rules for your eye health and safety.

Not everyone can wear contact lenses, which means an eye doctor needs to check the shape and size of your eye to determine whether you can wear novelty contact lenses and what type.

• Always get a proper prescription from your eye doctor, even of you don’t normally wear contacts
• Do not wear contact colour lenses for long periods of time.
• Do not leave your lenses in while you sleep.
• Never share your lenses or borrow a friend’s lenses – you risk a serious infection, which can cause vision loss.
• Wash, rinse and dry your hands every time before you touch your lenses.
• Always put your lenses in before applying make-up and take them out before removing make-up.

• Your eyes are very sensitive and any infection in the eye can develop very quickly increasing the risk of vision loss.
• If they are left in too long the surface of the eye can become starved of oxygen, and an ulcer can develop, increasing the risk of infection.
• If a contact colour lens doesn’t fit your eye properly it can scratch the surface of the eye and cause injury or infection.

If your eyes become red, irritated, sore or your vision changes while wearing your lenses, take them out straight away and visit your eye doctor.

• There have been a number of cases where people have left novelty lenses in overnight or shared them with friends and they developed permanent damage to their eyes.

• Novelty contact lenses need to be cleaned, rinsed and disinfected after every use – just like sight-changing contact lenses.
• Never ever use saliva to wet your lenses or put the lenses in your mouth. Saliva carries germs.
• Use only a proper contact lens solution recommended by an optometrist for cleaning and lubricating your lenses. These cleaning solutions are available from your optometrist or local pharmacy.

Wearing contact colour lenses can be fun and make your eyes look very different for a while. Wearing them without proper advice and handling can make a difference to your health for a lot longer and that’s not fun!