Contact lens wearer loses vision in one eye after parasite infection

A 47-year-old woman from Lancashire developed a rare corneal infection after falling into a wheelbarrow containing dirt and water while cleaning horse stables in February. She removed her contact lenses later that evening instead of immediately after the fall.

Four days later her right eye began to sting, and the pain quickly became severe. Doctors initially diagnosed an ulcer and prescribed eye drops. Over the following days her vision in the right eye disappeared completely.

Diagnosis and treatment A March follow-up appointment identified acanthamoeba keratitis, an infection caused when the Acanthamoeba organism reaches the cornea. " Doctors determined she likely contracted the organism by washing her face while the lenses were still in place.

They later found the parasite had perforated her cornea and sewed her eyelid shut to allow healing. She must now apply six doses of eye drops every two hours and attend weekly hospital monitoring. A corneal transplant is planned once the infection clears, which doctors say will take several years.

" She continues to wear a contact lens in her left eye and urged others to follow proper hygiene. About 45 million people in the United States wear contact lenses. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that people who sleep in their lenses are six to eight times more likely to develop an eye infection.