A teenager from St. Clair Shores, Michigan has sustained significant eye damage after wearing a pair of "zombie" contact lenses for a Halloween activity. The family said the colored contact lenses caused the teen to have an impaired cornea, resulting in partial blindness.
Leah Carpenter, 17, bought the pair of contacts at a public weekend market in Gibraltar Trade Center, Mount Clemens for $26. Other girls were also said to have purchased the same pair of contacts.
Leah's mother, Dawn said that her daughter, then 16, donned the contacts for about four hours in school and said that she found the lenses difficult to remove, specifically in her right eye. Leah also said that she had some trouble with her peripheral vision. The following day, Leah's eye had gone inflamed.
Dawn initially thought that it was pink eye and took Leah to a doctor. Leah was then asked to go to the emergency room for urgent care, another hospital and finally a treatment facility called Beaumont Eye Institute in Royal Oak.
"It's unbelievable to watch her suffer and the pain that she was in and there's no way to help her," said Dawn.
Thec senior said it was just for show as it was their theme for the day. She added that she did not think that anything would go wrong.
The colored contact lenses scratched Leah's cornea and for this, she had to visit the doctor on numerous occasions, skip school and pass on extracurriculars.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that people can purchase contact lenses, including the decorative ones from eye doctors, online sellers and mail-order companies. The agency, however, said that it is highly vital to buy the lenses from those selling FDA-approved or cleared lenses. The company should also ask the buyer for a doctor's prescription, the doctor's name and contact number. Such protocol must be followed so the lenses provider could verify the patient's need for lenses.
"If they don't ask for this information they are breaking federal law and could be selling you illegal contact lenses," FDA mentioned in their website.
Leah and her family said this practice was not implemented at all. Dawn just told her daughter to buy a contact lenses solution and to just clean it thoroughly. Leah did not receive any instructions from the seller and Dawn had to go back to the store to obtain a receipt.
During the initial illness, Leah only had shadows to see but now, she has already noticed some improvements in her vision. Her mother said that an eye surgery may be required and that at this point, their family is not aware whether or not Leah will completely heal.
The Carpenters has already talked with a lawyer but so far, no litigation has been submitted.
Photo: Arek Olek | Flickr
