Patient stories: Ruth Dale - acanthamoeba keratitis

Ruth Dale traces the beginning of months spent in a room padded with blankets and duvets to a seemingly innocuous fleck of mud.
The 47-year-old event manager was re-turfing the back garden of her Aylesbury home when a small piece of mud flew into her left eye.

[@mollywest3087]

This poor woman. She is still so bright and informative even in this situation. I wonder if her prognosis had been better if she was diagnosed sooner

[@noonseen2017]

yes, definitely.

[@MrsJohanna33]

I have also been a regular contact lenses wearer for over 20 years. I too are now one of the unlucky ones. I had the same experience of developing one day to the next what I assumed was conjunctivitis or pink eye. After two days, one eye became angrier than the other and a couple of days later I was in the ER. I was also misdiagnosed to having a bacterial infection and a severe corneal ulcer. The pains and symptoms were exactly what you described. After a corneal biopsy and further tests a month after, since my eye was not responding to the oral treatment and drops, it was confirmed it was a fungal infection. I am now out of work and unable to drive. This is month #3 for me and thankfully the facial and craneal pain episodes are less frequent. At this time the doctor has warned me the clearing of the fungus may take 2-3 additional months. Only then I can be evaluated for a corneal transplantation if the ulcer has not healed on its own. Prayers for everyone.

[@LifesSuperstar]

Honestly, I’m so grateful you have put this out there because I have been suffering with the same diagnosis for seven months now..

[@ulicesventura11]

How have you progressed through it?

[@LifesSuperstar]

@@ulicesventura11 i’m still struggling with it, the infection is rejecting the treatment and has caused the problems around the eye… I also have scleritis together with Acanthamoeba

[@jeroen89]

My mom got infected with this nasty bug but thankgod the brutal regimen of taking eye drop medication every hour has had a positive outcome. Today she got told to reduce to only taking drops only four times a day with two different prescriptions. Hopefully she’ll be completely cured within six months without any loss of eyesight. 🙏🏻

[@xyz-mc5of]

Which type of bug was it and what eye drops did she take exactly? Thank you very much in advance

[@_Anna_Nass_]

Six months later. Any update?

[@clashwithmoi8926]

If you take your contacts out, you have to disinfect them for at least 4 hours before you can put them back on. Always keep spare dailies in hand

[@avonallen9532]

This is a sad occurrence. Hope you improve Miss Dale. Be careful of the labs you send your samples to, many aren't reliable.

[@markgunnels4780]

Hey, I hope all is well. So about three weeks ago when I was driving, I noticed I became super sensitive to sunlight. I started tearing and took my contacts out instantly. Today, the doctors said I have this infection and I'm about to start taking the proper medication for it. They said my vision is still pretty good which is a good sign and they said we caught it in the early stages. My right eye Morris than my left is pretty blurry but I can still see, just not able to clearly see letterings from a distance. I'm so terrified of losing my sight or going blind. Any words of advice or anything based on what I said would be great. Thank you!

[@Sosahersi]

Damn jus stop wearing contacts pleaseee fuck em

[@englishvg1658]

@@Sosahersi fr!

[@izachu904]

Hello. How is your eye right now? I have been the exact same way. Misdiagnosed as bacterial conjuctivitis and after 7 days it turned out to be a viral infection and splashed on to my cornea now. Everything is blurry. I've been given 6 times daily dexamethasone moxifloxacin eye steroids antibiotics side effects freaks me out

[@GoddessofMusicTv]

Any Updates?? I pray for the best!🌷

[@melissa_anastasia]

How did you get diagnosed? What is the test like? Thank you

[@kimhjalmarsson8886]

Is the rule that whenever something like mud or contaminated water gets in your eye while wearing contacts you are supposed to take out the lenses immediately and discard them or clean them with peroxide solution and use glasses for the rest of the day? I'm just asking because this kind of scenario could potentially happen anyone wearing contacts. I'm assuming some of the amoeba might have been left on the contact lens after the rinse which got lodged between the lens and the cornea making it possible for it to infect the eye?

[@OptometryToday_AOP]

In a scenario like this one it is imperative that the you remove your lenses, discard them and seek clinical advice from your local optometrist. The optometrist would be best placed to assess the integrity of your eye health and ensure that your eyes remain healthy. You can find more information here: www.aop.org.uk/about-aop/aop-news/2017/03/23/contact-lens-advice-resources

[@kimhjalmarsson8886]

@@OptometryToday_AOP So I need to contact my optometrist everytime I get some sort of debris or potentially contaminated substance while wearing contacts? That sounds odd to me because it happens like once a week by accident that tap water or some dirt gets in my eye, that is life. What this poor lady did wrong I assume is putting in a contact that still unknowingly to her had the amoeba attached to it or some left on her eye which became lodged between the cornea and the lens while re-inserting the contact lens. If she had thrown it in the garbage and delayed using contacts again to the next day it probably would not have happened without extremely bad luck or a predisposition that leaves some individuals more susceptible to the infection. I'm just saying that you do good by informing but not by making people panic, it is a very rare infection after all.

[@OptometryToday_AOP]

In such situations, it is always important to err on the side of caution. And although acanthamoeba is a rare eye condition, it is difficult to pre-determine where the strains are which are likely to cause an eye infection. Daily lenses are best placed to help prevent such eye conditions as it will ensure a reduction in cross contamination and help to prevent eye conditions.

[@kimhjalmarsson8886]

@@OptometryToday_AOP Absolutely! Prevention is key because treatment is very difficult in this case. Whenever I have mentioned being concerned about contracting acanthamoeba my optometrist has said that it only happens to people that like keep their lenses in for months. So haven't really spoken to someone that has sounded concerned or even ever come into contact with someone that had this disease.

[@OptometryToday_AOP]

@Kim Hjalmarsson It is rare, but the consequences can be so severe which is why we advise caution. If you are interested in more we have another patient story kzbin.info/www/bejne/d4iod6yhh9VgnsU

[@TaxingIsThieving]

I wore a damaged lens and now my eye has discharge and feels like grit. I hope I'll be alright

[@110shehzdi]

same thing happened to me. My eye is red right now. How are you now?

[@raptorrodger]

@@110shehzdiI think I just got it… I thought it was pink eye so I left it untreated for a week. I noticed today there’s a small scar hole in my cornea. I’m scared but plan on going to get it checked out this week. Did you happen to get yours treated? 😢

[@divinefm6438]

I had an infection which was misdiagnosed 2 months ago...just today got an eye scraping sent off to confirm that it is probably acanthamoeba keratitis...I'm told this is rare but why was I not diagnosed properly earlier...could have been cured by now...blurry vision...light sensitivity...pain...living in darkness...could lose my sight...serious stuff!! Why is there no better diagnosis tools and treatment for this condition? I'm confused and disappointed. Would love some advice on this thank you!

[@izachu904]

hello ARe you using any medication for treatment? its been 15 days since my eye had conjuctivitis and now the affected eye see blurry. Diagnosed as keratitis . but docs first said its bacterial now they say its viral. Given topical steroids for 3 WEEKS !! . I am scared of side effects.

[@MrsJohanna33]

Sending prayers! ❤

[@TaxingIsThieving]

How are you now

[@ibrahimbozkurt-i2f]

​@@izachu904 are you okay?