After falling asleep with contacts on, Mike contracted a rare parasite that ate away at his eye. Now he is blind.
21-year-old Mike Krumholz’s life took a tragic turn through a habit he cultivated. He was for seven years contact lens wearers and actually got on well with it. Occasionally he would get an eye infection if he forgot those lenses to be taken out in a timely manner. The young man from Florida (USA) decided to take a short 40-minute nap in December 2019 following a busy day at his part-time job as a childcare worker. What was to follow then sounds like something out of a horror film.
Woman showers with contact lenses – loses her eye
Acanthamoeba-Keratitis
He was diagnosed with Acanthamoeba keratitis – a rare, flesh-eating parasite that invades his right Eye had eaten away. It was so badly damaged that to this day Mike is unable to work or continue his studies. He is de facto blind. “My family is amazing, they’ve been very supportive financially. My mom took time off work but I can’t even hang out with her in the living room. It’s very weird not being able to see people.”
Acanthamoeba-Keratitis is a rare eye infection that can have devastating consequences, such as the loss of an eye or permanent blindness. Acanthamoebas are tiny, single-celled animals (amoebas) commonly found in water (including tap water, well water, lakes, swimming pools, and hot tubs), soil, and sewage systems.
When these tiny parasites invade the cornea (the clear front surface of the eye), infection can occur. Acanthamoeba keratitis infections often occur due to improper contact lens handling and poor hygiene. A dirty lens case can also be a source of Acanthamoeba infection. If an infection is present, it must be treated immediately, otherwise there is a risk of permanent vision loss or a corneal transplant must be done to restore the lost vision.
Woman confuses eye drops with superglue
“Pain like nothing”
Mike has pain, which he describes as: “The pain is more from the back of my eye, all the way up [vom Hinterkopf] and down [nach vorne]. It’s a constant pain. I’m pretty proud of my pain tolerance, but I was screaming in pain. For the first two weeks that I was diagnosed, the pain was second to none.”
“There are less than 10 doctors in the world who can treat this rare infection really well,” he says, putting a lot of faith in his doctors. He already had a cornea transplant (the clear dome that covers the eye). He hopes to get back “at least 50 percent vision” so that he can see at least a little bit once more. If you want to know how your recovery is going, you can contact him TikTok consequences.
Doctor removes woman 23 (!) contact lenses from her eye
