Cases of flesh-eating parasites can be quite surprising. This rare condition can pose a great risk. Mike Krumholz, 21, took a 40-minute nap with his contact lenses on December 19 last year and woke up with his right eye irritated and inflamed. This little candy darkened the college student’s life.
EYE COMPLAINTS ARE NOT OVER
“They were really uncomfortable, like my contacts were flying in my eyes,” Mike Krumholz told the Daily Star. “I took them off and there were no problems.” However, the irritation did not subside, and Krumholz visited an ophthalmologist the next day, where he was mistakenly diagnosed with the herpes simplex 1 virus. After a month of irritation and blurred vision, Floridian went to the hospital where, after a series of tests, he was eventually diagnosed with acanthamoeba keratitis.
HYGIENE PROBLEM OF LENS CAN CAUSE INFECTIONS
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, severe infection is “caused by a microscopic, free-living amoeba — single-celled living organisms that are often found in water, soil, and air masses.” Contact lens wearers are at higher risk of contracting an infection, especially if they do not store and use their lenses properly. Krumholz went through a procedure called photodynamic therapy, in which the white of the eye is placed over the pupil to fight the parasite.
HE CONTINUOUSLY FEEL PAIN
The student’s irritation turned into extreme pain and left without seeing properly in his right eye, he described what he saw as “black and gray flashes” like the static state of a television. “I can’t describe such pain in my life,” she said sadly. “It’s like a constant shock, a constant pain. I’m pretty proud of my pain tolerance, but I’m screaming in pain. I wish I was exaggerating.”
DUE TO INFLUENCE OF THE EYE, IT CAN’T BE TRANSPLANTED
Krumholz is currently ineligible for an eye transplant due to his age and current health. “My eye is too inflamed to get human tissue from another eye, my body will not accept it right now and I will need another transplant, so it will continue to get worse,” he explained. “But if I’m eligible for the transplant, I hope he’ll give me at least 50 percent or so so I can see some.”
ATTENTION TO SYMPTOMS
According to the CDC, acanthamoeba keratitis can cause permanent vision impairment or blindness. Symptoms include eye pain, eye redness, blurred vision, sensitivity to light, sensation of something in the eye, and excessive tearing. Krumholz is unable to continue working as he is receiving ongoing treatment to reduce the severity of the infection.
Now, it is raising awareness to warn anyone who wears contacts not to sleep with them and to be aware of people’s eye health.