A New York lifeguard misplaced her eyesight after contracting a uncommon amoebic an infection brought on by a standard mistake many individuals make whereas swimming. For all contact lens wearers, this can be a essential warning—all the time take away your lenses earlier than coming into the water to keep away from critical dangers.
Maureen Cronin, a 53-year-old lifeguard and swimming teacher, can not proceed her work after dropping her eyesight to acanthamoeba keratitis, a uncommon an infection brought on by parasites burrowing into her cornea and completely damaging her proper eye.
Since final June, Cronin had been giving swimming classes to children in her yard pool, however she by no means eliminated her contact lenses through the periods.
“I did not know this [that you shouldn’t wear them] however I had my contacts in and I’d take my goggles off and present them the best way to go underwater and the way enjoyable it was,” she mentioned.
The indicators of an infection started with a watch irritation throughout considered one of her swimming periods, which Cronin describes as feeling like she “had a bit of sand” in her eye. Nevertheless, the discomfort quickly escalated into “excruciating” ache. She then consulted a physician who prescribed eye drops, however the signs continued. After a number of misdiagnoses, first as a corneal laceration and later with a herpes an infection, she was finally discovered to have acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) in August of final yr.
Cronin underwent a cornea transplant the next month, however her physique rejected the process, leaving her utterly blind in her proper eye. As she awaits a second transplant in hopes of restoring her imaginative and prescient, she feels anxious concerning the end result. “It feels prefer it’s endless, and I am nervous,” she shared.
“AK just isn’t well-known and it’s typically misdiagnosed. I’d say anybody who wears contact lenses should not put on them close to any physique of water. Do not even put on them when it rains,” she added.
Contact lens wearers are on the highest danger of growing acanthamoeba keratitis, making up a minimum of 90% of circumstances. The an infection typically happens resulting from a mixture of things, corresponding to carrying contacts for too lengthy, improperly storing them, and never cleansing the lenses or storage circumstances appropriately. Moreover, carrying contact lenses whereas swimming or showering, or utilizing contaminated contact lens-related objects like circumstances or options additionally raises the chance.
