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TAIPEI, Taiwan – Recently, a college girl was found blind because both the corneas of her eyes were devoured by amoeba after wearing disposable contact lenses for 6 months straight without taking them out.
Acanthamoeba keratitis, or more commonly known as amoeba keratitis, is an infection that usually ail contact lens wearers whose eyes come into contact with dirty water.
Director of ophthalmology at Wan Fang Hospital Wu Jian-liang stated that people who wear contact lenses are a high-risk group vulnerable to various eye infections. He said that just a shortage of oxygen can harm the surface of the epithelial tissue, which in turn would cause wounds in one’s eyes, thus cultivating an environment suitable for amoebas to survive.
Wu implied that the girl did not follow the correct instructions in maintaining her contact lenses clean and her timeworn lenses eventually caused the infection in her corneas. After over a half year wearing them, her corneas were eaten up by the amoeba and her cornea itself shrank to its normal size. Unfortunately, effective medicines in eliminating these amoebas such as polyhexamethylene biguanide (PHMB) or chlorhexidine haven’t yet been introduced to Taiwan, said Wu.
Director of ophthalmology at Tri-Service General Hospital Lu Da-wen warned that whatever kind of contact lenses there is, it should not directly come in contact with water, as this will increase their possibility of becoming infected by viruses and protozoon.
Also check out the video of worm removal on the eye. This is the result of unhygienic lifestyle and environmental factors.
Source/s:
- Quinn, R. Contact lens wearer’s eyes destroyed by amoebas. (2014, July 14). Retrieved from http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/07/14/contact-lens-wearer-eyes-destroyed-by-amoebas/.
- Lin-Yi Shen. Amoebas devour girl’s cornea after contact lenses stay in for 6 months. (2014, July 14). Retrieved from http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2014/07/03/411512/Amoebas-devour.htm.
