A 38-year-old man from the United Kingdom, Matt Flack, contracted an infection from an Acanthamoeba parasite that began eating away at his cornea after he went swimming in a pool, People reported.
Flack said he was on holiday in Bali in May when his left eye turned red and began watering toward the end of the trip. He wears contact lenses and initially assumed they were the cause of the irritation.
His condition kept worsening even after he removed the lenses. He developed severe sensitivity to light, and the eye could barely open.
Diagnosis after returning home
Once back in the United Kingdom, Flack saw a doctor. After an examination, the specialist determined that parasites had taken hold in his eye, causing a rare condition known as Acanthamoeba keratitis.
Flack said he panicked when doctors confirmed the diagnosis. He said he was very frightened and was not ashamed to admit that he cried a little. He said he is now undergoing treatment, though the outlook remains uncertain, adding that he is very afraid of losing sight in the affected eye.
What is Acanthamoeba keratitis
Acanthamoeba keratitis is a rare but serious eye infection caused by a microscopic amoeba commonly found in water, soil and dust. It most often affects contact lens wearers and can damage the cornea, sometimes leading to permanent vision loss if not treated promptly. Doctors say the infection is frequently linked to wearing contact lenses in swimming pools, hot tubs or other water sources.
Doctors treating Flack suspect he was infected because he did not remove his contact lenses before swimming.
Similar case reported before
A similar case was previously reported involving a woman from Mexico, Vivian Nosovitzky, who described living with parasites in her eye. She said the sensation felt like her eye was being cut with a knife and glass.
