AUSTIN, Texas — You may have seen a shocking post making the rounds on social media. Rachel Prochnow is an influencer based in Austin. She posted a photo of herself with a very nasty-looking infection that permanently damaged her eye. In her caption, she wrote, "do not shower or swim or use the hot tub in your contacts."
That hits home to millions of people who wear contacts and swim in these hot summer months, so we spoke with a local eye doctor about what this condition is and how to prevent it.
"That post is showing an acanthamoeba infection," optometrist Dr. Elizabeth May said. "Acanthamoeba is parasite, specifically an amoeba that lives in the soil and in the water. Although it's rare, it can infect your eye. And when it does, it's very serious. It's vision-threatening, and it can be difficult to treat."
So where do contact lenses come in?
"Eighty percent of acanthamoeba infections in the eye are with contact lens wearers, and the contact lens just kind of can harbor a lot of bacteria and like this one, a parasite."
Dr. May said these symptoms can include light sensitivity, redness, extreme pain, and a decrease in vision. As for that cyborg look, she said it's caused by a ring infiltrate, but there are ways to prevent it.
"To truly be the safest, it's going to be to take your contacts out before swimming, hot tubbing even showering. Since acanthamoeba can be in your tap water, never rinse your contact lens cases with water and then always for people, if you ever feel like your eye is painful, red, something's going on, call your eye doctor as soon as possible," May said.
Dr. May said treating that can take anywhere from six months to a year, and the damage may still be permanent.