Color-changing eye drops: Are they safe?
How do the eye drops work?
That’s not clear. Companies manufacturing the drops claim the products adjust levels of melanin in the iris, the colored portion of the eyeball. Purportedly, the effects begin to be visible within hours and can last for a week or longer. If a user wants enduring results, they’ll need to continue using the product.
But these claims skirt a complete lack of evidence that the drops have any effects on the iris, much less the desired effects, Dr. Boland says.
“I’ve found zero descriptions of how they work in terms of a plausible mechanism,” he says. The ingredients list includes things that might be found in other eye drops or drugs or even cosmetics, but nothing that would actually change your eye color.”
How might the drops hurt your eyes?
The AAO lists a variety of potential สมัครสมาชิก UFABET วันนี้ รับเครดิตฟรีทุกวัน safety risks from using these products or any other unregulated eye drops, including:
- inflammation
- infection
- light sensitivity
- increased eye pressure or glaucoma
- permanent vision loss.
“All of those problems are possible, since we don’t have any real idea what’s in these bottles,” Dr. Boland says. “The biggest concern is damage to the cornea, the clear part of the front of the eye. If the cornea is damaged by the chemicals in those bottles, you might lose vision.”
Are there safe alternatives to change eye color?
Still hankering for a way to get, say, Taylor Swift’s electric blue eyes or Julia Roberts’ golden brown peepers? There is a trustworthy option, Dr. Boland says: colored contact lenses. But he recommends choosing that option with caution.
“Professionally prescribed and dispensed contact lenses are a safe way to change your eye color,” he says. “But don’t buy them online. Get them from a reputable source to make sure they’ve regulate and evaluated as safe, because contacts can damage the eye if they’re not designed properly or kept clean.”