A young American lost sight in one eye after forgetting to take out his contact lenses. The reason was a rare flesheating parasite that devoured his eyeball.
The case happened to 21yearold Mike Krumholz in December last year. After a day babysitting in Florida, USA, he took a 40 minute nap with contact lenses in his eyes. As soon as he woke up, he realized something was wrong and asked his parents to take him to the doctor.
The young man wore contact lenses for seven years and was already experiencing other problems from forgetting to take them off, such as “red eyes,” according to Britain’s Daily Star newspaper.
Mike was diagnosed with keratitis, an inflammation of the cornea, caused by Acanthamoeba keratitis, a rare parasite that was feeding on his right eye. Today he cannot see with the organ, but “grey and black” flash.
“The pupil is covered, I don’t have one now. You can’t see the student,” Mike told the British newspaper. The young man is undergoing treatment to try to control the condition.
On social media, Mike encourages others to remove their contact lenses before bed. “Don’t sleep, swim or shower with them,” the young man warned in a post on Tik Tok.
He also appreciates the support he has received online. “No one understands what the mental stress of 80 days in a room does to you, but reading all the comments and messages makes me think,” he wrote in the caption of a tik tok.
In the latest update on the platform, Mike said the parasite hasn’t completely left his eye, “but it’s dying.”
The young man also crowdfunded the Internet asking for help with treatment. He has already received $3,850 out of $10,000 total.