It’s always annoying to take out your contacts before taking a shower, but it’s a necessary inconvenience. Contact lens wearers understand the significance of this. One Shropshire man has had to learn that lesson the hard way.
Due to a parasite getting inside his eye, 29-year-old Shrewsbury resident Nick Humphreys is in need of a corneal transplant after going blind in his right eye. According to Nick’s physicians, the parasite was able to infiltrate his eye since he was wearing his contacts while taking a shower.
At the time, Nick stated, “I didn’t give it much thought.” “My opticians never indicated a risk, and I was never advised not to wear contact lenses in the shower. There is also no caution on the packaging. The doctors speculated that it might be Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK), but they couldn’t be certain until they received the test results.
Water can carry the water-borne parasite AK, which can then enter the eye.
“Before I got home, I had no idea what the infection was, but I looked it up on Dr. Google and thought for sure I was going to have my right eyeball removed,” Nick said.
Nick’s situation drastically deteriorated in March 2018 when he unexpectedly lost sight in one eye.
“My right eye’s vision completely disappeared while I was driving to work,” he claimed. “I’m not sure how I avoided collapsing, but I quickly realized that I had to return to the hospital. Though I physically couldn’t be outside the house, I adore my job. My eyes were too painful, and the only reason I would go was to the hospital. Playing football, the one thing that would lift my spirits when I was at my lowest, was no longer an option.
“Of course, I didn’t want to lose my right eye, but at least now that the infection was gone, I could start to restart my life,” Nick continued. At last, I could go back to work and begin going to the gym.
Nick has always placed a high value on exercise, and that was actually his motivation for initially obtaining his contacts.
“In my mid-twenties I really started to throw myself into exercise and at the time I thought my glasses were a massive hindrance,” Nick said.
“When I finally got over my fear of putting contacts in, I thought they were the best thing ever. On a standard morning I’d wake up, pop my lenses in and head to the gym before work, then I’d jump in the shower before heading to the office. I can honestly say if I’d had the slightest idea that this was even a remote possibility I would never have worn contacts in the first place. It’s crucial that people out there know this is a reality and it can happen because of something as simple as getting in the shower.”
Nick added, “I’ve lost 18 months of my life because of something as simple as showering with contacts in. If I get my sight back I’ll never wear contacts again.”
Nick is currently working with charity Fight For Sight in order to raise awareness for both the need for proper contact lens care, as well as more clear information on the packaging pertaining to concerns of the risks of water exposure.
