A Dundee woman is warning of the dangers of fancy-dress contact lenses after her eyes were damaged.
Nicola Covanah from Fintry bought the cat contact lenses for Halloween but when she tried to remove them she ripped off the top layer of her corneas.
She rushed to hospital for treatment but fears her sight could be permanently impaired.
Ms Covanah said: “I’ve never felt pain like it it felt like someone was pouring bleach into my eyes. I was in casualty, screaming; it was absolutely horrific. The nurse called for the specialist when she saw the damage.”
She added: “I just want to warn everyone else, I would never have worn these lenses if I’d have known the damage they could cause.”
The impact on her sight is so severe she is unable to read or use a mobile phone and has had to take time off work.
She said: “I’ve had blurring of my vision, my eyes have been weeping.
“A number of other people I was out with also had these lenses in and complained of pain. One friend had to take them out after five minutes because they were burning.
“I just hope my story will scare others into not messing with lenses like these in case they get hurt.”
The lenses were manufactured by Smiffys, sold from Yvonne’s Fancy Dress in Dundee and have since been removed from sale.
David Farry, manager of Yvonne’s, said: “We are waiting to hear back from the company that produced the lenses. If there is even a tiny chance that these lenses could cause damage we will withdraw them from sale.
“It’s important to be careful and look out for our customers.”
One-day use fancy-dress contact lenses were the subject of a recent warning to consumers.
Dr David Allamby, a consultant eye surgeon said: “Decorative contact lenses need to be treated in the same way as prescription contact lenses, with thorough guidance on how to put them in and follow up care. It’s quite shocking that you can just pick these things up on the internet or in a fancy dress shop with no advice or aftercare.”
The manufacturers, Smiffys, were unavailable for comment.