A young man from the United States has lost vision in one eye after a flesh-eating parasite blinded him when he took a nap with his contact lenses on.
The terrifying incident happened in Florida in December last year. 21-year-old student Mike Krumholz took a 40-minute nap on December 19 and woke up with an irritated right eye.
He had his contacts on and noticed that they were floating in his eye and so he took them out. The inflammation and irritation did not subside following which the student went to a doctor the next day. He was misdiagnosed with herpes simplex 1 virus, New York Post reported.
A month later, when the irritation and blurred vision didn’t go away, Krumholz went to a hospital and following a number of tests he was diagnosed with acanthamoeba keratitis – a serious infection “caused by a microscopic, free-living ameba — single-celled living organisms that are usually found in bodies of water, soil, and air”, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention says.
The disease can reportedly cause permanent blindness and symptoms include eye pain, eye redness, blurred vision, sensitivity to light, and excessive tearing.
The still-in-pain student underwent a procedure called photodynamic therapy, where the white part of the eye was put over the pupil in a bid to fight off the parasite.
People wearing contacts are at a higher risk of such an infection especially if not handled in a hygienic way.
Krumholz describes his impaired vision in his right eye as “black and grey flashing like the static of a TV”. He writes a GoFundMe page that he can't even go out.
“I could not explain one pain like this in my life. It’s like a constant shock, it’s a constant pain. I’m pretty proud of my pain tolerance but I have been screaming in pain. I wish that I was exaggerating,” Krumholz told New York Post.
The student, unable to study now due to his condition, is not even eligible for an eye transplant due to his health. He is now spreading awareness on social media about contact lenses and warning anyone against sleeping wearing them.
Krumholz has raised $2,937 of his $10,000 goal on GoFundMe.