Girl Loses Vision as Dirty Lenses Cause Amoebic Infection

A Taiwanese student lost her vision after microscopic bugs ate through her eyeballs because she did not bother to clean her contact lenses for six months.

The 23-year old student lost her eyesight after using the same contact lenses for six months. The lens was supposed to be thrown after a month's use. Her tardiness in not cleaning or throwing away the lenses resulted in the amoebic infection that gnawed away the corneas of both her eye.

Lian Kao, an undergraduate student wore the contact lens at all times, even during swimming. Doctors were horrified when they removed her lens as the surface of the girl's eyes had literally been eaten by the amoeba.

According to the instruction for usage of contact lens; no lens should be used more than 8 hours and should be taken off while swimming and washing.

The girl created a favorable breeding ground for amoeba as Acanthamoeba is one amoeba that needs no oxygen to breed and feeds on cornea.

"A shortage of oxygen can destroy the surface of the epithelial tissue, creating tiny wounds into which the bacteria can easily infect, spreading to the rest of the eye and providing a perfect breeding ground." said Dr Wu Jian-Liang, director of ophthalmology at Wan Fang Hospital to DailyMail.

A study conducted in 2009 by Journal of Ophthalmology  reveals  "Corneal oxygenation is significantly reduced during contact lens overwear, particularly for those who sleep in their lenses overnight. The association between Acanthamoeba keratitis (the infection known as) and contact lens wear is firmly established; it may account for up to 95% of the reported cases," reports newser.

Dr Wu Jian Liang said that this case should be a warning to others to be more cautions in using contact lenses.