Meet the acanthamoeba keratitis, capable of eating away at the cornea of the eye
The Brazilian influencer and youtuber Lilian Melchert has revealed that she suffers from a rare disease: acanthamoeba keratitis, a carnivorous parasite capable of devouring the cornea of the eye. The infection even left the influencer blind after several attempts at treatment.
“I’ve been referred to several specialist eye doctors, spent a fortune on several antibiotics and eye drops and… no improvement,” Lilian lamented, in an Instagram post on Wednesday evening (22).
The influencer says that the symptoms started on the 1st, when she woke up feeling that “a knife had been stuck in her left eye”. “I’ve never felt worse pain in my entire life,” she said.
The initial measure was to look for an emergency room, also in Los Angeles, in the United States, where he was located, and start a treatment that did not give results in the following days. From then on, Li mentions the pilgrimage to several specialists until her sight “disappeared.”
What causes acanthamoeba?
Back in Brazil to be with her family and have access to “trusted doctors,” the influencer has finally received the correct diagnosis. Eye infection usually affects people who wear lenses in their eyes.
As previously clarified by ophthalmologist Tiago César Pereira Ferreira a Terra, the main risk factor for infection is the inappropriate use of lenses. This includes bathing – in the sea, waterfall, river or even in the shower – while wearing the accessory. On her YouTube channel, Lilian said she thought her problem was reusing a disposable lei model.
“Cheap turned out to be expensive. I tried to be smart, the Brazilian way, to spend less and my eye woke up totally infected,” she explained.
Another habit that favors the manifestation of the parasite is sleeping with lenses.
“We always advise people to remove their lens every time they go to sleep, even for short periods of time, as this can lead to contamination of the accessory and, consequently, contamination of the cornea by this protozoan,” he says the specialist in contact lenses, refractive surgery, keratoconus and cataract, as well as professor of Ophthalmological Surgery at the Faculdade Ciências Médicas de Minas Gerais and affiliated with the Brazilian, American and European Academies of Ophthalmology.
What is the treatment for acanthamoeba?
Because it is a long-lived protozoan, the ophthalmologist explains that it is necessary to use “a lot of antimicrobial eye drops”. This treatment, however, doesn’t always stop the infection from progressing. In these cases, the patient may need a cornea transplant, as also warned by the influencer.
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
