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People prefer to wear contact lenses nowadays rather than traditional eyeglasses because it’s less hassle and adds more fashion. But does everyone know that mishandling and not cleaning your lenses can lead to extreme danger such as immediate blindness.
Jessica Greaney, an 18 year old English college student almost got blind after leaving her contact lenses in a glass of solution near the sink wherein it get splashed by tap water. A parasite called “Acanthamoeba” which also lives in tap water got its way to the contact lens and entered Jessica’s eyes. The parasite started to destroy the teenager’s cornea and gradually ate her eyeball.
At first, Jessica thought it was just a minor eye infection until the soreness got worse and her eyes became bulgy. She was admitted to the hospital. The doctor’s diagnosis revealed the living parasite that eats her eye. Jessica went to a painful treatment that stopped and killed the parasite. The treatment was very hard for her for she’s not allowed to sleep in one week so that the nurse can give her eye drops from time to time. Fortunately, the operation was successful. She was discharged with healed eyes but needed to take 22 eye droplets per day to reduce redness and swelling.
Jessica wanted to take her story as a lesson for everyone, she stated “I want to raise awareness about this parasite and tell people they need to be very careful with their contact lenses.”
Jessica Greaney, an 18 year old English college student almost got blind after leaving her contact lenses in a glass of solution near the sink wherein it get splashed by tap water. A parasite called “Acanthamoeba” which also lives in tap water got its way to the contact lens and entered Jessica’s eyes. The parasite started to destroy the teenager’s cornea and gradually ate her eyeball.
At first, Jessica thought it was just a minor eye infection until the soreness got worse and her eyes became bulgy. She was admitted to the hospital. The doctor’s diagnosis revealed the living parasite that eats her eye. Jessica went to a painful treatment that stopped and killed the parasite. The treatment was very hard for her for she’s not allowed to sleep in one week so that the nurse can give her eye drops from time to time. Fortunately, the operation was successful. She was discharged with healed eyes but needed to take 22 eye droplets per day to reduce redness and swelling.
Jessica wanted to take her story as a lesson for everyone, she stated “I want to raise awareness about this parasite and tell people they need to be very careful with their contact lenses.”
