A woman has explained how wearing contact lenses in the shower ultimately cost her one of her eyes.
Marie Mason, 54, is now calling for better warnings on packs of contact lenses after her nightmare ordeal. The grandmother-of-one first noticed a problem in her left eye back in 2015 after developing a constant feeling that something was stuck in it.
When her vision then began to deteriorate, Marie visited the opticians and was quickly rushed to hospital . Doctors discovered that she had developed a dangerous infection caused by a microscopic amoeba present in tap water, WalesOnline reports .
Marie, who lives in Sapcote, was told that the bacteria was living inside of her eye after finding its way between her contact lens and cornea. She wore 30-day contact lenses at the time, which allowed the infection to multiply and cause lasting damage.
The rare infection was caused by Acanthamoeba Keratitis, bacteria that can cause permanent visual impairment or blindness. Following the diagnosis, Marie spent five years trying different types of medication and even surgery in an attempt to repair the damage to her eye.
The painful infection meant that Marie’s life came to standstill. “I had to stop work, because at the time I worked in a kitchen in a school, and I was having to put eye drops in every half an hour so it just wasn't going to work because it's so painful,” she explained.
“I also had to go to the hospital two to three times a week, and sometimes even more. I was also in eye casualty a lot because something would flare up, so with all the times I had to go into hospital, I couldn't have gone to work because it wouldn't have been worth it anyway,” she added. After three unsuccessful cornea transplants, the eye eventually had to be removed.
Thankfully, Marie’s life is now almost back to normal two years on from losing her eye. She is now working again and volunteers with her church, although she admitted that she sometimes struggles with everyday tasks and has given up driving due to her impaired vision.
Marie is now on a mission to raise awareness so that no other contact lens wearers end up suffering the same fate. "I just don't want anyone else to go through it really,” she said.
“Wear contact lenses, that's absolutely fine, but you've just got to be careful - it's the water thing more than anything,” she added. “I would just like the manufacturers to put more warnings on the packaging about water and contact lenses.”
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