When Irenie Ekkeshis’s eye started to itch(发痒), she thought it would soon settle down. It didn’t. Before long, she found herself in great pain and lost her sight in that eye. And the cause may have been nothing more than handling her contact lenses(隐形眼镜) with wet fingers.
One Saturday morning in January 2018, Irenie Ekkeshis woke up to find her right eye was streaming with tears. So she went to the chemist’s and picked up some eye drops. She thought she had a little infection that would clear up by Monday. But by that evening she couldn’t bear to go in her kitchen because she found the lights too bright. It was painful.
Within days she was told she had Acanthamoeba Keratitis (AK), a rare but serious eye infection caused by a micro-organism(微生物) that’s common in tap water, sea water and swimming pools. She was feeling very shocked and frightened, as she had lost the sight in her right eye. It was like looking through a foggy bathroom mirror. She could see colours and shapes but not much else. She hadn’t had a shower or gone swimming in her lenses. But even washing your hands and not drying them properly before handling lenses can cause it.
She could not work and eventually quit her job. She does things to help cope day to day. So if she’s going to have a meal with friends, she tries to sit closer to the wall on her right side so that she can see everyone.
She completely lost her vision in that eye this year. Doctors have told her they suspect that AK was the source of the problem and that her sight is unlikely to return.
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