Gaga Lenses (PICTURE): Is Lady Gaga-Inspired Contact Lens Trend Dangerous?

By: Aina Hunter
Topics: ,

Lady Gaga's huge eyes in her video Bad Romance have sparked a dangerous contact lens trend among teens.

Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" video.(Interscope Records/YouTube)

(CBS) Check out Lady Gaga's enormous, manga-like eyes on her new video, "Bad Romance." Do you think she looks cute and interesting or crazy?

If you said crazy, you might be too old, or maybe old enough to know better.

Lady Gaga's cartoonishly large eyes have sparked a new, dangerous trend, and now the cool kids are buying "circle lenses." These colored contact lenses, long popular in Korea, extend past the pupils to cover parts of the whites of the eyes.

They are illegal in the U.S., but people are buying them over the Internet, according to CNN.

CBS Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton says that the trend, which started in Korea, is a dangerous one. Mainly because wearing contacts that haven't been properly fitted by a doctor increases the risk of infection.

"In some cases, rarely (infections can) can even lead to blindness," Ashton said. "Absent those things, corneal ulcers, scratches or abrasions in the corner of the eye, impairing vision either from the tears or from infection, and depriving the eye of oxygen all can set up the risk of infection and in rare cases, blindness."

It may be worth noting that Lady Gaga wasn't wearing circle lenses in the video - her gaze was computer-generated, according to New York Times. Maybe her handlers take the American Optometric Association's warning seriously.

The AOA says that people who buy lenses "without a consultation from an eye doctor put themselves at risk of serious bacterial infection, or even significant damage to the eye's ability to function, with the potential for irreversible sight loss."

"You do not want to mess with this," says Ashton.

More at The Early Show

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by erica007 July 10, 2010 11:46 AM EDT: Yup, I believe it is actually a combination of video effects and some make up. If we do have contact lens like that yes it is dangerous but circle lens is not dangerous at all. I have been using it for years and so do millions of people around the world. As long as you get clean hands and buy it from an authorized dealer then everything would be fine. I usually buy it from http://www.my-contactlens.com and never had problems before.; Reply to this comment


by needtobeheard July 7, 2010 11:31 PM EDT: First of all I'd like to say that Lady Gaga did NOT spark any trend. Circle lens have nothing to do with her. Yes, it originated in Korea and then became popular in Japan, where girls want to look like anime characters or look doll like. Honestly, look at girls with circle lens and then look at Lady Gaga and the picture here. NO CIRCLE LENSES LOOK LIKE THAT and I would say that both girls here look "crazy," not cute. I have no comment on health risks, all I have to say is if your lenses are as big as the ones shown here, it's obvious that oxygen constriction would occur. Again, REAL circle lenses do not look like that. Perhaps you are trying to get your point across but this article is biased. I don't disagree that circle lenses can cause health risks, all I am saying is get your facts straight.; Reply to this comment


by jschufm July 7, 2010 8:37 PM EDT: This civilization is truly on its last trip down!; Reply to this comment