Man blinded by a parasite in the eyes after being showered with contact lenses

Nick Humphreys started wearing contact lenses to improve his eyesight when he was playing football – but they eventually left him blind with one eye.

He wore them in the shower, causing Acanthamoeba (AK) keratitis – a rare parasitic infection in the right cornea.

Nick, 29, of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, has undergone two eye surgery and is now waiting for a corneal transplant.

The local newspaper reporter said, "If I had known how dangerous it was to wear shower contacts, I would never have had them.

"After catching the infection, I went to the gym every other day and to football three times a week, then I stayed at home for six months and did not want to live anymore.

"I had contacts because I did not like the way I looked in glbades and it almost cost me the right eye."

Nick started wearing glbades at the age of four and from 2013 he wanted to improve his eyesight by playing sports. He therefore opted for monthly lenses, priced at around £ 25.

Alternating his glbades to take a break, he used his contacts up to five days a week, wearing glbades the other days.

"On a normal morning, I woke up, opened my lenses and went to the gym before work, then jumped in the shower before going to the office," he said.

"I did not think about it at the time. One never told me not to wear contact lenses in the shower, there is no warning about the packaging and my opticians have never talked about it. a risk. "

Nick only realized that something was wrong in January 2018, when he noticed a scratch in his right eye.

Waking up one morning unable to see through, he thought that he had scratched his eyes by putting on his lenses, but as the week went on, it became clear that he was spent something much more serious.

When that did not improve, he went to see the optician, who said he had an ulcer in his eye and advised to go immediately to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

Nick has been tested for Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) – a corneal infection – the transparent window in the front of the eye – caused by a microscopic organism called Acanthamoeba, present in the water .

A week later, the doctors told Nick that he was positive to AK, letting him fear that his football days would be over.

"I told the doctor that I had read some horrible stories about it and asked if I would need to have my eyes removed," he said.

"He just looked at me and said," It could be a possibility. "

"It was when I realized it was serious."

He received disinfectant ophthalmic drops for three weeks, which initially improved his eyesight, but in March 2018, he suddenly found himself completely blind in the right eye.

"I went to work and my vision went completely in my right eye," he said. "I do not know how I managed not to crash, but I soon realized that I had to go back to the hospital."

Referred to the Birmingham and Midland Eye Center, doctors prescribed superior eye drops, which were to be applied hourly, even at night.

After weeks of sleepless nights and unable to work, Nick was left depressed and confined at home, while the doctors were trying to decide on the best course of action.

"I love my job but I can not physically be out of the house," he said.

"The pain in my eye was too much and the only time I left was to go to the hospital.

"I felt at my lowest level and the only thing that would cheer me up – playing football – was no longer an option."

Six months after his initial diagnosis, the doctors decided that there was only left to perform corneal reticulation.

Usually used to treat keratoconus – a visual disorder resulting in thinning of the cornea – it consists of using ultraviolet light and drops of vitamin B2 to stiffen the cornea. Used together, the treatments further bind the corneal fibers.

While the procedure – conducted in July of last year – helped to clear the infection, Nick remained blind in the right eye.

He said: "Obviously, I did not want to be blind from the right eye, but at least, knowing that the infection was gone, I could start to get my life back on track. I could finally go back to work and start going to the gym. "

Nick still needed extra treatment. In September 2018, he underwent an amniotic membrane graft on the right cornea at the Birmingham and West Midland Eye Center.

The procedure involves tissue grafting of the amniotic membrane – the innermost layer of the placenta – on the eye to protect the cornea. It has anti-inflammatory and anti-scarring effects, as well as growth factors that promote the healing of wounds on the surface of the eye.

Although the treatment was a success, at Christmas 2018, after the second operation, Nick's mood deteriorated.

After being referred to a counselor by the general practitioner, Nick slowly accepted his problem.

Working with the charity Fight for Sight to raise awareness of the danger of using contact lenses while showering or swimming has also helped.

A YouGov survey for Fight for Sight found that a large portion of contact lens wearers in the UK were putting their vision at risk due to unsafe habits, unaware that they could develop an infection such as Acanthamoeba keratitis.

56% of surveyed respondents reported wearing them longer than the recommended 12 hours a day, 54% said they swam or showered and 47% slept there. At the same time, 15% of respondents had put them in their mouth to clean or lubricate them and 2% had even shared used lenses with other people.

He said: "I can honestly say that if I had the slightest idea that it was even a distant possibility, I would never have made contacts at the beginning.

"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."

There are only six weeks left before a corneal transplant – an operation that replaces a cornea damaged by a healthy donor tissue from a deceased – Nick counts down the number of days before the procedure, booked on Aug. 15 in Birmingham and the Midland Eye Center.

"I lost 18 months of my life because of something as simple as taking a shower with contacts.

"If I recover my sight, I will never wear contacts again. Instead, like Edgar Davids, the former Dutch professional footballer, I'm going to wear goggles to play sports. "

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