Did the contacts really make a difference here or is swimming in affected waters the main hazard?
this post was submitted on 02 Nov 2024
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My understanding is that acanthamoeba are basically everywhere, and the contacts being worn when swimming or showering are actually one of the main factors in acanthamoeba infection. They normally eat bacteria but they are opportunistic parasites, and I guess the contact gives them the opportunity.
So does the acanthamoeba get stuck behind the contact and can't get washed away by tears? Or do the contacts cause small abrasions that serve as an entry point? What role is the contact lens playing?
I'm only a student in the field so NotADoctor™ but under normal conditions your tear film layer and blinking keep other liquids out of your eyes. When wearing contacts in water or when cleaning them with tapwater, there is a small amount of the fluid that gets trapped against the eye. If that fluid is fresh water contaminated with acanthamoeba, it provides ample opportunity and time for the acanthamoeba to break through the layer and the contact lens prevents it from being blinked away.
Probably didn't help, but yea...infected water and getting it in your eyes and not rinsing them properly really doesn't help.
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I have no idea how something like that didn't happen to me.
I used to wear 30-day disposable contacts for like 3-4 months without ever taking them out. Would just squeeze the cleaning solution directly into my eyes every morning, give them a few heavy blinks, and then rinse with the saline.
I wasn't expecting that, that is literally insane.
Looking back, definitely lol.
At the time I was a lazy teenager / college student and just didn't really think about it. I was also poor + without insurance so had to make them last. Usually when one would tear, it would be when I was taking them out / putting them in.
Jesus Christmas. Do you hate yourself?
I had a mate back in uni who would pour lager from a pint glass straight into his eyes if his daily contacts started to dry up. Somehow nothing bad ever came of it, I have no idea how. Inexplicable behaviour and zero repercussions.
I used to do this as well... I think I went for 6 months once... not great. I wear glasses now and have chronic dry eye. I got lucky.
Reasons I'm too squeamish for contacts #407
Just the idea of touching my eye with my finger... I realize there's a contact lens between them, but that doesn't really change the ickiness of the idea to me.
You eventually get used to it
One time I tried for 5 minutes to get my contact lens out, getting desperate enough to scratch from the white to the iris with my fingernail. I thought I was scratching the contact lens until I felt something weird in the side of my eye.
The fucking thing slid behind my eye at some point.
So I scratched my literal fucking eyeball with very little pain.
My vision was blurry, but I could see only one contact lens was removed in the container. I concluded that it must still be in there and that the bad vision was just my mind playing tricks on me.
Point is, you can get pretty comfortable touching your eyeball.
I don't think I want to get used to it.
I like contacts even less now.
Me too. And to be honest, the simple idea of a contact constantly sitting on my eyeball makes me squirm.
The idea that the contact lens can get on the side or backside of the eyeball squicks me out.
Contact wearer of 20 years here. It can't get behind the eye, that part's a myth; there's connective tissue surrounding the entire eyeball along the backside, so nothing's getting through there without tearing through, and it'll take more than a contact lens to do that.
It can get stuck along the sides, though, but usually only if it's folded or creased somehow when you put it in. It's not painful, necessarily, but it is a very uncomfortable feeling; it almost feels like choking, but through your eyeballs. It triggers a gag reflex for me. But you can usually fix it by closing your eyes and gently rolling your eyes around a bit.
It's pretty much impossible for a lens to get stuck or "lost" in the eye. If it's in your eye but not in the right spot, you'll know it.
I’m also a contact wearer and had to explain this to my friend since he was thinking of getting contacts. He saw this video and decided against them. Lol
https://nypost.com/2022/10/14/video-shows-doctor-removing-23-contacts-from-womans-eye/
Yep, I’ve worn contacts since I was three years old. In my nearly 40 years of wearing them, it’s happened maybe five times that they slid to the side. There’s no reason to freak out when it happens; I usually just close my eye and gently nudge the lens back with my finger on my eyelid.
Of course, it helps to know that it can’t physically get ‘behind your eye’ even though it certainly feels that way.
The worst thing I've encountered with contacts is when they tear in half in your eye and you remove one part but struggle to find and remove the other half. That's happened to me a few times.
Thank you for this new fear.
Thank you for this new fear.
It gets better!
In around 40% of cases doctors have to perform surgery, which involves scraping the outside of the eye to remove the parasites and repairing the area through transplant.
Now I've had quite a few unpleasant procedures in my time, but that sounds like something I would really love to be knocked out for.
But because it's eyes, idk if they need the patient conscious. Ugh....
It's actually going to be great for you. When I was still more interested in eye surgeries, there was a special substance that was used on the patient to keep the eyes open. It's still in some hospitals. What is it? Near-100% pure cocaine, baby!
spoiler
Mild disclaimer: the eye surgeries we're talking about are completely different than the eyeball-scraping kind.
Oh that is true. Although they might just default into something boring like lidocaine.
The metro is a rag, not a newspaper
I like how they showed the same picture twice to make sure we saw more of her body
You can wipe your ass with both.
That also happened to the avant-pop musician Momus (in Greece, some time in the 90s). It was featured in a BBC documentary, IIRC.
FYI if you use contacts (from https://www.allaboutvision.com/contacts/acanthamoeba-keratitis.htm with some extra tidbits from other websites i found while getting informed about this)
Never use tap water with your contact lenses. The FDA has recommended that contact lenses should not be exposed to water of any kind.
Do not swim, shower or use a hot tub while wearing contacts. If you do decide to wear your lenses while swimming, wear airtight swim goggles over them.
Soak your lenses in fresh disinfecting solution every night. Don’t use a wetting solution or saline solution that isn’t intended for disinfection.
Always wash your hands before handling your lenses.
Always clean your contacts immediately upon removal (unless you are wearing disposable contact lenses that are replaced daily). To clean your lenses, rub the lenses under a stream of multipurpose solution – even if using a “no-rub” solution – and store them in a clean case filled with fresh (not “topped off”) multipurpose or disinfecting solution.
Wash your case with solution and not tap water.
Replace your case at least once every 3 months with a new one.
And if you do get a red eye with a burning sensation and blurry vision that does not go away and you use contacts, do remind your doctor that you're specifically worried about acanthamoeba and would like to make sure that you're not at risk, as this woman visited several ophthalmologists every 2 days and not one of them thought about it. The treatment was eye drops. Now she is blind and needs a transplant.
Reading all of this makes me thankful me in my 20s was too lazy to get contacts (despite being too self-conscious for glasses), and me in my 30s was well-off enough to afford LASIK..
..yikes!
It's fine if you're careful. I never got Lasik because you can only get it once and it only lasts 10-15 years until your eyesight degrades again. Then it's back to glasses or contacts. Especially after 45-50 when it really goes downhill.
I skipped Lasik because my yearly contacts cost is 120 €, which over 15 years would net me 1800€. Lasik was quoted to me at 5000 € for both eyes. You could be a statistical fortuity and it lasts more than 15 years, but considering you get used to something it's not permanent and have to change back i figured might as well stick with lenses.
There's also orthokerathology, which is some rigid contacts you use only when sleeping that shape your eyes for up to 48 hours so you see well. They're more expensive than contacts, cheaper than lasik and much safer because you only sleep with them. Alas, i can't wear those because my astigmatism is too high for current technology, but i hear they're getting better with it.
I’d wear swim goggles regardless in water.
"If caught early enough, doctors can prescribe eye drops which can kill the parasites.".... man thats sad. honeslty, i work for an insurance in the general liability sector and in my opinion the diagnosing doctor might be liable for damages. i would definately make a claim with their insurance.
Wear goggles when you go swimming.
Beach trip where? Pls specify so i can dodge that place. And could this parasite not infect the eye without contact lenses aswell?
i think the implication is that the contacts kept the parasite in contact with the cornea giving them time to work into the cornea through small tears, which often occur with people who wear contacts.
I guess that makes sense. Poor woman.
The article never explicitly made the connection between contacts and this condition.
Does it trap the parasites against the eye? Does it cause micro tears that allow the parasites to enter? In which case, just being a contact user would be the problem, not wearing them while swimming. I didn't see anything in the story that would indicate NOT wearing contacts would prevent this.
You shouldn't really wear your contacts if they're going to come into contact with water, they will indeed trap parasites against the eye that would under normal circumstances get cleared away.
Ok. But I'm a little annoyed it wasn't expressly stated in the article. I don't wear contacts.
I thought this is why swim goggles exist. Chlorine,salt, any water is hard on the eyes regardless of contact lenses.
Why contacts though? Are they making the tears in the cornea to let in the parasites?
Curious if I'd be at risk for taking off my glasses and going for a swim
So I guess the thinking is that things get trapped under the contact lenses. When you blink or pour water over your eyes, you would normally flush nastiness away from your eyes. With the lenses on, it blocks the flushing action, which gives the parasite more time to establish itself.
I suppose this is probably also true for most bacteria or foreign particles too. I imagine it's also one of the risks of just wearing contacts for too long without changing them.
I think your guess is much more plausible. Because I understand that the trapped bacteria is a risk to the eyes, as well as a lack of oxygen, when sleeping with lenses.
Just wear swimming goggles
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