Teenage girl nearly loses her sight after parasite grows on her contact lens and begins eating through her eye

PUBLISHED: 13:02 EST, 27 March 2013 | UPDATED: 13:54 EST, 27 March 2013

A teenager has told how she almost lost her eyesight after a parasite grew on her contact lens and began eating through her cornea.

Ashley Hyde had to endure a procedure where an optician had to drill into her eye.

Scrapings from her eyeball were also taken as medical staff tried to find out why her left eye was left inflamed.

Infection: Ashley Hyde, 18, suffered an eye infection that almost left her blind due to her contact lenses

Doctors discovered Hyde, 18, had an acanthamoeba infection, Local10.com reported.

Acanthamoeba is a microscopic parasite found in water and soil that can spread through contact lens use, cuts, or skin wounds or by being inhaled into the lungs.

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The parasite left the teen from Pembroke Pines, Florida, with blurred vision and repeated visits to the optician.

'They did multiple cultures where they scrape your eye,' she said. 'One time, they had to drill into my eye. It was really nasty.'

Painful: Ashley had to endure a procedure where doctors drilled into her eye to stop the bacteria

Attack: The bacteria was eating through her cornea, leaving her eye red and inflammed

Hydes has been told she must undergo months of treatment.

Dr. Adam Clarin, an optometric physician, said contact users should try to change their lenses daily.

'There is nothing safer or healthier than throwing out the lens every day and starting with a new one the next day,' said Clarin.

'Every day, we see people come in with contact lens related to infections, complications, ulcers,' he said.

Hidden danger: The bacteria is found in soil and water and is transferred by contact lenses

Recovery: Ashley will need to undergo months more treatment until her eye is back to its original health

'These are all things that are potentially blinding.'

Hyde said she wished she had changed her lenses regularly. 'It hurts,' she said. 'I wouldn't risk it.'

UNSEEN DANGER: BACTERIA THAT TRANSFERS FROM CONTACT LENSES

Culprit: The Acanthamoeba parasite that lives in tap water and dust and eats through the cornea

Ashley was suffering from an acanthamoeba infection, which could have left her blind.

Acanthamoeba, a tiny single-celled parasite, is found in tap water, in dust, in the sea and in showers and swimming pools. It feeds on bacteria found on dirty contact lenses and cases.

When the lens is put in the eye, the bacteria starts to eat its way through the cornea - the outer layer of the eyeball - and breeds as it goes.

Symptoms of the infection include itchy and watery eyes, blurred vision, sensitivity to light, swelling of the upper eyelid and extreme pain.

Treatment includes eye drops, with patients initially being treated every 20 minutes, day and night and spending up to three weeks in hospital. The most severe cases are given cornea transplants.

Advice for avoiding the bug includes keeping lenses and cases clean and replacing them regularly.
parasite also found in dust, in the sea and in showers and swimming pools,

Girl nearly loses sight from infection

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These stories are the outcome of not looking after your contact lenses. Every one of us who wears these things could be blame for this occcasionally. This is a lesson to us all. Keep those lenses and hands clean!

- Lauren , Australia, 28/3/2013 06:30

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I had acanthamoeba keratitis in my right eye about 20 years ago, and it was extremely painful. I needed to sit in a darkened room whilst I had eye drop treatment. It took ages for the doctors to work out what was happening, and Im very lucky to have suffered long term damage.

- Lucy , Yeovil, 28/3/2013 06:15

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The pictures are absolutely frightening!

- Idiot Sinan Ozyol , Cincinatti, United States, 28/3/2013 06:12

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Yes, DM all very shocking and I feel sorry for the girl. But you have reported on this kind of thing on several occasions, spreading panic to contact lens wearers in the process. It's time to stop now.

- Trainergirl , Canada, 28/3/2013 04:07

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- Lizard, Florence, 28/3/2013 7:39 Indeed! Anthony Mundine a well known Australian boxer mad e the news a couple of years ago after he temporarily went blind in one eye and got a nasty infection. Why? Because he put his lens in his mouth and then put it back in his eye.

- Happy Dude , Newcastle NSW, Australia, 28/3/2013 03:54

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Ouch! :S

- lupislune , suffolk, United Kingdom, 28/3/2013 03:52

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I hate to rain on everyone's parade, but that picture of the worm in her eye is not from this story. Google "loa loa eye worm" and you'll see that picture has been on the internet for at least six years. That parasite is caused by the bite of a mango fly, not contact lenses. When will reporting ever be made of accurate information instead of fear-mongering nonsense?

- Faye Teresa , Seattle, United States, 28/3/2013 03:49

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DM has it all wrong - this is an amoeba, not a bacterium as they erroneously state several times in the article.

- Simon , Staines, 28/3/2013 03:00

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I'll just stick to my specs ! :((

- Meg , Here There and Everywhere, Canada, 28/3/2013 02:14

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An Optometrist performing an invasive procedure on my eye? Never never never!!!

- Sabrina , Phoenix, United States, 28/3/2013 02:01

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