Halloween Contact Lens Safety 2026: Know When to Take Them Out
This year, Halloween gets an hour longer. Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 1, so the clocks go back an hour late on Halloween night. But that doesn’t mean your contact lenses should stay in an hour longer.
Set a reminder on your phone before heading out to remove them, and stick to your prescribed wearing schedule.
Here are important safety tips to keep in mind this Halloween, to avoid eye damage.
1. Get a prescription before you buy costume contacts
All contact lenses, whether they are fun vampire reds or zombie whites, are actually medical devices and should be treated as such.
Many people might incorrectly assume that if lenses have no corrective power, then they do not require a prescription.
They do indeed need a prescription, as well as a proper fitting.
So if costume lenses are part of your Halloween look, book an eye exam and contact lens fitting with an eye doctor as soon as possible. Appointments can take time to schedule, so do not leave it until Halloween week.
Once you have a prescription, only buy from a retailer that asks for it. In the U.S., it is illegal to sell contact lenses without one.
If you cannot get an appointment in time, skip the costume lenses this year.
2. Make sure your contact lenses fit properly
Costume contact lenses that do not fit properly carry a risk of damaging your cornea, the clear front surface of your eye. Therefore, make sure to only use the lenses that were specifically fitted and prescribed for you by an eye doctor, and never share your lenses with anyone else.
3. Wear costume lenses for no more than four or five hours
Set a wearing schedule for Halloween, and stick to it.
Try to keep colored contact lenses in for no more than four or five hours, because the dyes and materials in costume lenses can reduce the oxygen reaching your cornea.
For example, lenses that go in at 7 p.m. should come out by midnight at the latest. If your eye doctor has given you a shorter limit, follow that instead. Redness, discomfort, or blurred vision could be your body’s warning signal that you should take them out sooner than you had planned.
Even better, set a reminder on your phone for when to remove them before the clocks roll back.
4. Disinfect your lenses with the solution your optometrist recommends
Many assume that using saline is an all-round treatment. However, saline does not disinfect lenses.
For reusable contacts, follow the exact guidance provided by your eye doctor and the lens manufacturer, and always use fresh solution, not yesterday’s leftovers.
5. Keep tap water out of the routine
Before you handle your contact lenses, whether you are putting them in or taking them out, wash your hands thoroughly with soap and dry your hands.
Also, never rinse or store contacts in tap water, and remove them before showering.
Water can carry germs, which can lead to serious eye infections.
6. Take them out before resting
It is advisable to remove costume contacts before you go to bed and before that “five-minute” nap on the sofa, which can easily turn into a couple of hours.
Single-use lenses should be discarded after removal. Clean and disinfect reusable pairs according to their instructions.
Red flags: don’t sleep on these
Pain, unusual redness, discharge, or blurred vision are warning signals that require urgent attention from an eye doctor. Take your lenses out and contact your optometrist or ophthalmologist right away. If they are closed, go to an urgent care clinic or the emergency room rather than waiting until morning.
Your before-you-leave checklist
- Glasses
- Clean lens case
- Recommended solution
- Removal reminder
Keep the costume. Give your eyes the night off.
