By Jenny Suo
Teens in New Zealand and around the world are going gaga for a new type of contact lens made famous by pop diva Lady Gaga.
But because they can be bought on the internet optometrists fear they could be used without proper medical supervision.
Lady Gaga’s larger than life eyes were mainly computer-generated but now teens are copying the big eyed effect with contact lenses.
The New Zealand Association of Optometrists is warning the new look could end up being a severe eye sore.
“It’s like your grandma says, ‘its always fun until you lose an eye’, so the risk is that you could pick up an eye infection, lose vision and end up doing blind,” says president of the Optometrists Association Wilson Sue.
“So I think you need to be aware of that.”
They are manufactured in Asia but available here through New Zealand company Cosy Mall which sells them through its website, and on TradeMe.
The company declined to go on camera but a seller "Willy" agreed to do a phone interview, saying their circle eyes products come with safety instructions and they have never had a health related complaint.
“If you follow the instructions and you are cleaning, you’re hygienic, I don’t think there are any problems, we do mention in all of our sales that if you have any irritation you do need to consult the optometrist,” he says.
Circle eyes are designed to radically change the look of eyes in size and colour but optometrists say because the lenses are purchased online there is no quality control or professional guidance.
Cosy Mall says it now sells about 200 pairs a month but optometrists warn, like anything available on the internet, what you see may not be what you get.
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