The woman who was wearing contact lenses in the pool and shower almost lost her vision: what is keratitis in Acanthamoeba?



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The English woman nearly lost her vision with one eye after swimming and taking a shower with her contact lenses. She felt pain, blurred vision and sensitivity to light. ( Adrian Swancar | Unsplash )

It may not be a good idea to take a shower or go swimming with contact lenses.

The doctors described the case of a woman who had almost lost the vision of an eye because of an infection that she had contracted after swimming and taking a shower while she was in pain. she was wearing contact lenses.

In a brief report published in the New England Journal of Medicine On Wednesday, Lanxing Fu of the Manchester Royal Eye Hospital in the UK and her colleagues said that the 41-year-old woman living in England was experiencing pain, blurred vision and sensitivity to light in her affected eye.

What is keratitis in Acanthamoeba?

The doctors eventually discovered that she was suffering from a rare condition called acanthamoeba keratitis, which affected only one to two contact lens wearers.

Although rare, this eye infection can cause permanent visual impairment or blindness. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have stated that this disease is caused by an autonomous amoeba called Acanthamoeba, which lives in the air, soil and water bodies such as lakes. and the oceans.

Acanthamoeba keratitis can occur when the amoeba infects the cornea, the transparent outer part of the eye.

The patient described in the report presented symptoms before seeking medical attention. To diagnose Acanthamoeba keratitis, doctors perform a scraping culture of the cornea and confirm the presence of the amoeba by applying a dye in the affected eye. If the amoeba is present, the infection will change color and change from dull brown to fluorescent green.

"Scratch cultures of the cornea have caused Acanthamoeba polyphaga and a diagnosis of Acanthamoeba keratitis has been made," Lanxing Fu and his colleagues wrote.

Treatment

The infection is treated with prescription drugs. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the eye care provider would determine the best treatment option for the patient.

Antimicrobial drops were administered to the woman described in the case, but her vision remained impaired due to scarring and cataract formation as a result of the infection. A year later, she underwent surgery to repair the cornea, which restored her vision somewhat.

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