Want to change the color of your eyes with cosmetic
contact lenses? You’d better make an appointment with an eye
professional.
The state Board of Optometry recently busted the Doc
of Rock shop, 1811 Old Sonoma Road, for selling decorative contact
lenses without a license.
Decorative contact lenses are particularly popular
among teenagers and young adults, but they should only be obtained
with a prescription from an optometrist or an ophthalmologist, the
California Department of Consumer Affairs said last week.
Contact lenses that are not fitted properly may cause
an infection, vision loss and even blindness and eye loss, state
officials cautioned.
In December, Ahmad Marini, manager of Doc of Rock in
Napa, pleaded no contest in Napa County Superior Court to a
misdemeanor for selling contact lenses without a license, according
to court records.
Marini, 34, of Fairfield, was placed on three years’
probation, according to court records. The store owner, Najjar
Sadeddin, was ordered to pay about $6,000 in fines, including about
$2,500 to the California State Board of Optometry, which
investigated the case, according to state officials and court
records.
The state investigation began after a consumer filed
a complaint alleging Sadeddin was selling and dispensing contact
lenses without a prescription at his south Napa store, state
officials said.
A month after state officials informed Sadeddin that
selling and dispensing cosmetic lenses without a license was
illegal, the Board of Optometry found the shop was still operating
illegally, state officials reported.
The illegal use of cosmetic lenses on the black
market is dangerous, state officials and optometrists caution.
“You have to make sure they’re fitted correctly for
the eye,” said Russ Heimerich, spokesman for the California
Department of Consumer Affairs.
Napa optometrist Edwin Larsen prescribes
non-corrective lenses in his office, he said, noting that patients
need to have an eye exam before they can be fitted.
Cosmetic lenses are particularly popular among
teenagers and young women with brown eyes, Larsen said. Favorite
colors include blue, green or even gray-colored contact lenses, he
said.
Larsen said there are many risks to buying contact
lenses on the black market.
“They don’t receive the proper fitting, the proper
training and education to keep the lenses clean and free of
bacteria,” he said. “They’re not shown how to put them in and take
them out safely. ... They might sleep in them.
“All of those things can be a recipe for a disaster,”
Larsen said.
Another Napa optometrist, Craig Sultan, said he has
not sold any cosmetic lenses in three years, though he keeps them
in his office.
The lenses are novelty items that are not very
comfortable, Sultan said. Also, they have opaque areas that can
obstruct one’s side vision, making them dangerous when driving, he
cautioned
Read more: http://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/business-busted-for-illegally-selling-contact-lenses/article_3ae37b2e-5127-11e1-8f32-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz1lxTuUN6f
No comments:
Post a Comment