Stacey Peoples, a mother of four from Colorado who is 49 years old, almost lost her eyesight in 2014. Today, she’s warning the rest of the world against doing what she did.
Stacey was enjoying a vacation with her family for the Fourth of July when this unfortunate incident occurred.
She was in Michigan and went swimming with her son while wearing her contact lenses – something she’d done many times in the past 20 years and thought nothing of.
It wasn’t long before Stacey began experiencing severe pain in her left eye. At first, doctors misdiagnosed her, thinking she had conjunctivitis.
But her eye slowly began to resemble a zombie’s from a horror movie, the pain became so intense she could barely think, and she was started to suffer splitting migraines.
And then, she lost all vision, 100%, in her left eye, only able to see white.
Stacey was rushed to a hospital, and doctors soon realized what was wrong. She had contracted a very rare and severe parasitic infection known as Acanthamoeba keratitis.
This disease is one that happens due to the latching on of an amoeba to an eye’s outer layer, known as the cornea.
In Stacey’s case, this likely occurred as a result of her swimming activities because the amoeba had attached itself between her contact lens and the surface of her eye.
By this point, Stacey was in so much pain that she asked doctors to just take the eye. But doctors were determined to save it and talked her into attempting to salvage her vision.
For the next seven months, Stacey had to be on leave for work, and she had to everything she could to fight off the parasitic infection.
She needed to use special eye drops that contained a chemical akin to pool cleaner to kill the infection.
In 2015, Stacey was able to have a cornea transplant done. This allowed her to regain full vision in the affected eye – something she’s certainly very thankful for.
Today, she’s using her voice to warn others against doing what she did. Although the disease is extremely rare, it can happen – and it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
Approximately 85% of all cases of Acanthamoeba keratitis happen to those who wear contact lenses.
This is because these lenses often cause microtears in the eye, which are harmless otherwise but can cause parasites to attach themselves to the eyes much more easily.
Worried about contracting a disease or infection like this?
There’s no need to swear off contact lenses; just take care of them and practice good hygiene!
Here are some precautions to take:
Use proper lens-cleaning solution to clean your contact lenses and store them in a proper contact lens case that you replace every three months.
- Don’t sleep while wearing your contact lenses – if you feel sleepy, take them off!
- Don’t swim while wearing your contact lenses.
- Don’t wear them while you’re feeling ill.
- Put makeup on after you’ve put your contacts in, not before!
SEE ALSO:
Mom Wakes Up Blind After A Parasitic Worm Got Stuck Behind Her Contact Lens
