Eye doctors are urging consumers to be scrupulous about cleaning and caring for their contact lenses following reports that a Taiwanese student lost her sight after microscopic bugs ate through her eyeballs.
The story, which went viral on social media this week, described how Lian Kao, 23, reportedly did not remove her limited-wear, disposable contact lenses for six months straight and even wore them while swimming.
As a result, amoeba got under her lenses and tunnelled through her corneas, causing permanent damage that led to blindness in both eyes. The single-cell bug, called Acanthamoeba, can survive in tap water, swimming pools and hot tubs.
“While an amoeba burrowing into one’s cornea is certainly an extreme case, we want people to realize the importance of using contact lenses as prescribed,” said Dr. Tim Hillson, chair of the Eye Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. “Because they are worn directly on the eye, contacts create an environment that could lead to infections, corneal ulcers and, in rare cases, blindness.”
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