A rare infection that can affect the eyes is putting some people at risk of losing their sight, especially if they wear their contact lenses in the shower.
Acanthamoeba keratitis is a serious eye infection caused by a free-living amoeba that can be found in water and soil. It primarily affects contact lens wearers and can lead to severe pain, vision loss, and even blindness if untreated. Early diagnosis and treatment are crucial for preventing lasting damage.
One unlucky Texas woman unfortunately found out the hard way after wearing contact lenses for years. She ended up losing the sight in one of her eyes.
Here’s some of what Newsweek published on the woman and what she had to say about her experience:
While the majority of contact lens wearers benefit from the vision support they provide, some have reported tragic outcomes from trading in their glasses.
Rachel Prochnow, from Austin, Texas, was one of the 45 million people in the United States who wears contact lenses on a regular basis. Despite having worn them since she was 12 years old, no doctor ever gave her any reason to worry that they could harm her health. Sadly, in 2023, while 34 weeks pregnant, she “went blind” in one of her eyes after wearing her lenses in the shower. Prochnow, who recently underwent a cornea transplant to redeem her vision, now wants others to know about the rare condition that caused her blindness that optometrists never warned her about.
“I thought I was doing everything right,” Prochnow, who was diagnosed with acanthamoeba keratitis in 2023, told Newsweek via email. “I never slept in them, I replaced my lenses with a new set when I was supposed to, I only used contact solution to store them in, and even replaced my contact lens case once every two months.
She added: “It wasn’t even written on the packaging of the lenses to not get them near tap water. You have to delve deeply into the manufacturer’s instruction care PDF online to find this information.”