A man goes blind after wearing contact lenses in the shower

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Your daily shower usually does not pose a health risk, but for a man in England, this may have led to a serious eye infection that left him blind in one eye, according to the reported information.

Nick Humphreys, 29, of Shropshire, England, usually left his contact lenses in the shower, unaware that this practice could increase the risk of eye infections, according to PA Media, a UK-based news agency. -United. In 2018, he contracted Acanthamoeba Keratitis, a rare parasitic infection of the cornea or the outer transparent envelope of the eye.

"If I had known how dangerous it was to wear shower contacts, I would never have got them," Humphreys told PA Media. [‘Eye’ Can’t Look: 9 Eyeball Injuries That Will Make You Squirm]

Acanthamoeba According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), unicellular amoeba is commonly found in water, soil and air. Contact lens wearers are at risk of contracting this infection if they adopt certain practices, such as disinfecting lenses with tap water, swimming or showering under glass, the CDC said.

This amoeba has a particular affinity for contact lens surfaces, which means that lenses can be "a vehicle for hosting, transmitting and transmitting microorganisms to the eye", according to an article of 2010 on the subject published in the Journal of Optometry. .

But when Humphreys started wearing contact lenses in 2013 to be able to play sports without glasses, he was not aware of this risk in the shower. He often jumped in the shower with his contact lenses after a morning workout.

"I did not think of it at all at the time, and I have never been told not to wear contact lenses in the shower." warning on the package, and my opticians have never mentioned any risk, "Humphreys said.

After being diagnosed with Acanthamoeba Keratitis in early 2018, he was given eye drops for his infection, but a few months later, he suddenly became blind to the right eye, according to PA Media. Humphreys was then prescribed a more potent drug that needed to be applied to his eyes every hour, even at night. Humphreys became confined to the home and felt intense pain in the right eye. "I had too much pain in my eyes and the only time I left was to go to the hospital," Humphreys told PA Media.

He will later undergo two operations in the right eye, the first to strengthen the tissues of the cornea and the second to protect the cornea with a tissue graft from a fetal placenta. This procedure is known as amniotic membrane grafting.

Although his infection is resolved, Humphreys remains blind to the right eye.

He should have a cornea transplant in August. This surgery replaces damaged corneal tissue with healthy corneal tissue from a deceased donor.

Humphreys is now working with the Fight for Sight charity to raise awareness of the risks of showering or swimming with contact lenses.

"It's crucial that people know that it's a reality and that it can happen because of something as simple as taking a shower," Humphreys said.

Originally published on Science live.

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