Falling asleep with contact lenses can be dangerous: the risk of eye irritation is actually very high. But what happened to Mike Krumholz, a…
Access the article and all the content of the site
with the dedicated app, newsletters, podcasts and live updates.
Already subscribed? Login here!
SPECIAL OFFER
BEST OFFER
YEARLY
€79.99
€19
1 year long
CHOOSE NOW
MONTHLY
€6.99
€1 PER MONTH
For 6 months
CHOOSE NOW
SPECIAL OFFER
BEST OFFER
YEARLY
€79.99
€11.99
1 year long
CHOOSE NOW
MONTHLY
€6.99
€2 PER MONTH
For 12 months
CHOOSE NOW
– or –
Subscribe by paying with Google
Subscribe to
SPECIAL OFFER
Read the article and the entire site ilmessaggero.it
1 year for €9.99 €89.99
Subscribe with Google
or
€1 per month for 6 months
Automatic renewal. Switch off whenever you want.
- Unlimited access to articles on the website and in the app
- The 7:30 good morning newsletter
- The Ore18 newsletter for updates of the day
- The podcasts of our signatures
- Insights and live updates
With fall asleep contact lenses It can be dangerous: the risk of eye irritation is actually very high. But what happened Mike Krummholz, a 21-year-old American, is truly dramatic. The young man contracted a very serious infection that literally “eats” his eye and left him partially blind. His ordeal began on December 19 last year: In an interview with the Chron, Mike said he forgot to remove his contact lenses before a nap and understood as soon as he woke up that something was wrong.
Patient shows up in emergency room with blue hands, doctor: “I’ve never seen a case like this”
Acanthamoeba keratitis
His right eye was badly inflamed, so the young man decided to go to an ophthalmologist. However, he had to wait a month before receiving the correct diagnosis: Acanthamoeba keratitis. It is a rare eye infection caused by a microorganism – Acanthamoeba – which is normally harmless to humans but can be serious if it comes in contact with the cornea. Doctors initially thought Mike had a simple cold, but the excruciating pain and deterioration in his eye made it clear it was something more serious.
“Pain That Cannot Be Explained”
The parasite began to ‘eat’ the right eye of the 21-year-old, who has now lost his sight on that side and is forced to stay home in the dark for days to avoid exposing the other eye too much to the light. Mike said the infection was particularly painful: “I’ve never felt pain like this, it’s impossible to explain. Sometimes I screamed in pain.” The young man decided to tell his illness on TikTok, hoping to raise awareness among his peers about this type of infection.
After receiving the correct diagnosis at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Mike underwent photodynamic therapy (also used in cancer patients) and surgery, but it is likely that only a transplant will save his vision, albeit partially. The boy only hopes to get back to his everyday life, to college, but at the moment the infection makes even the simplest activities impossible for him.
Read the full article
on Messenger