If you're a contact lens user, you will not believe the horror a Florida teen went through when she learned that a parasite was eating through her cornea. Ashley Hyde, who is only 18-years-old, nearly lost her eyesight on her left eye after her contact lens started developing a microscopic parasite called Acanthamoeba. The bacteria is found in water and soil that can spread through contact lens use, cuts, or skin wounds or by being inhaled into the lungs.
The Pembroke Pines teen's infection got so bad that opticians even had to drill into her eye for testing. Okay, if you've lost your lunch already…you're not alone because I did too! Blech.
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Hyde, who was completely unaware of why her left eye was inflamed, stumped even the medical staff at her doctor's office. According to the U.K. Daily Mail, when doctors decided it was time to drill to see what was going on in her eye, it was discovered that she had a parasite infection. The microscopic single-celled parasite is found in tap water, in the sea, and in showers and swimming pools. The problem is that it feeds on bacteria found on dirty contact lenses and cases. Therefore, when the lens is placed in the eye, the bacteria starts eating through the cornea and breeds along the way.
The gross parasite left Hyde with blurred vision and frequent visits to her optician to have her left eye drilled to be tested for multiple cultures.This serves as a HUGE warning to all contact lens users that they should change their lens daily. Dr. Adam Clarin, an optometric physician, told Local10.com that it is hygienically better and healthier to start with a new pack everyday than risk contracting an infection.
As for Hyde, she faces months of treatment and regrets not having been more careful with her contact lens care–especially since she's now in a lot of pain. As a contact lens user who was prone to constant eye infections, this story scared the life out of me. I suffered from contact related eye infections due to my dry eyes that it even started affecting my cornea. Since then, I've limited my usage of contact lenses and try to be more careful when handling them, but this story has instilled a new fear in me.
I hope this teaches contact lens users–myself included–that it's important to spend a few extra minutes taking care of their eyewear, NOT sleeping in them, and changing them as directed. It's better to be safe than sorry since it's not worth potentially losing your vision or worse–your actual eye.
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Images via Local10/ Local10
