Can you swim in contact lenses? Doctors warn against infection

The next time you try to swim or take a shower while wearing contact lenses, Stacey Peoples asks you to remember her ordeal.

The seasoned educator from the suburbs of Denver, Colorado, became blind with one eye and suffered from such an untenable pain that she considered committing suicide after being exposed to a parasite while she was swimming in her contacts.

The infection by the microscopic organism, called Acanthamoeba, is rare, but any exposure to water when you wear soft contact lenses puts you in danger, doctors say.

"People want to say," Not me, it will not happen to me. "But I'm here to tell you that this can happen to you," said Peoples, 49.

"Our warning is this: contact lenses and water do not mix," said Dr. Thomas Steinemann, clinical spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

This includes tap water and chlorinated pool water, which can be treated and safe for consumption or swimming, but which is still not sterile, noted Steinemann.

Like many lens wearers, Peoples was unaware of the risk. She had been in contact for over 20 years and was wearing her daily disposable pair when she was going to swim with her son during the Memorial Day weekend in 2014.

The problems started about a week later. When her left eye became irritating, red and sore, her doctor told her that it was a pink eye. But things kept getting worse and the diagnosis continued to change: it had been said many times that she was allergic to drops of antibiotics, had a scratch on the cornea, and had been diagnosed with it. herpes in the eyes.

In July, she lost sight in her eyes. A cornea specialist eventually diagnosed him with Acanthamoeba keratitis, a serious infection of the cornea caused by the parasite.

At this point, the pain had become unsustainable, Peoples said.

"I had the impression that someone was snapping a rubber band on the front of my eyes every few seconds, but at the same time, the back of the eye had the impression that … it was going to explode through my head "she recalls. "The side of my face was like a constant migraine."

Extremely sensitive to light, Peoples had to stay in a dark room where she could not read or watch television. She could not work or drive. Her low point came when she started to spend time in the fetal position.

"I've been suicidal for a few days. If I did not have family and incredible support, I'm not sure what would have happened, "she said.

Why contact lens wearers are in danger

Soft contact lenses can act like a sponge, so that they absorb water, including common impurities in the water, such as Acanthamoeba, Steinemann said. When organisms jump on the contact lens, they become their gateway to the part of the eye on which the lens fits – the cornea.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the vast majority of people infected – 85% – are contact lens wearers. It is so rare that it is estimated that there are only a few cases of infection per million contact lens users.

They probably do not know what they are doing is risky, Steinemann noted.

People's experience of being misdiagnosed was not unusual, he noted. An eye exam will not reveal much at first.

"Many times we are deceived by this organization. It's a very cunning organization, if you will. It's very hard and it's very difficult to diagnose early, "said Steinemann.

The key symptom is the pain out of proportion with the results of the examination. Once the parasite gets into the eye, it can sink deeper and deeper, making the cornea – which is normally clear – cloudy and the infection more difficult to treat. People can become blind or even lose their sight.

The cornea is made from collagen and has no blood supply. Doctors can not give antibiotics to the patient. The treatment involves special drops that must be used several times a day for months.

People called them "acid drops" because they were almost as bad as eye pain, she said. She had to use the drops for nearly 15 months to make sure that the parasite, who can live dormant, was completely gone. In early 2015, she became a candidate for a cornea transplant.

When the doctor lifted the bandage, she cried. "It was a real miracle. I could see, "she recalls.

Today, Peoples has normal vision with glasses and is not going to approach contacts. Her story recently began to grab attention after her school featured her story on her website last month.

She has two main messages to send to others: Do not let the water touch your contacts – it only takes one drop to get infected, she added. And consider signing up to become a cornea donor.

"(The transplant) has given me back my life," Peoples said.

If you wear contacts:

Remember these precautions, said Steinemann:

• Do not take a shower in your lenses or swim them, whether in a pool, hot tub, river or in the sea.
• If you swim in, take out your contacts and disinfect them when you come out of the water.
• If you wear disposable lenses, discard them when you come out of the water.

"The risk is not high – Acanthamoeba is not common, but if you get it, you're out of luck because it's extremely difficult to diagnose and treat," said Steinemann.

Follow A. Pawlowski on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.