"82 visits to the doctor" Influencer goes blind - because she showers with contact lenses
A year ago, US influencer Rachel Prochnow's eye suddenly hurt like hell. She had caught a rare parasite and went temporarily blind. An operation restored her sight.
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- US influencer Rachel Prochnow was diagnosed with a rare eye infection called Acanthamoeba keratitis around a year ago.
- These are tiny parasites that can be caught while swimming or from tap water.
- Prochnow now warns against showering with contact lenses because wearers are said to be more susceptible to the parasites.
- The influencer went temporarily blind in the infected eye. Many visits to the doctor, countless eye drops and an operation later, she is fine again.
Rachel Prochnow is a mother, influencer and contact lens wearer. Why is the latter important? Because she went temporarily blind as a result of her vision aid.
The US-American now shares her story on Instagram, where she warns: "Don't shower, swim or take a hot bath with contact lenses."
About a year ago, the woman's eye suddenly became very itchy, which eventually developed into severe pain. "It was the worst pain I've ever experienced," says the influencer.
Rachel Prochnow: "I went to my optician, who had no idea"
When she felt the itch, the then pregnant woman had just left the gym. "I figured my contact lens was broken and replaced it at home."
The next day, at her mother's birthday party, the pain became even worse and her eye became sensitive to light.
Prochnow remembers: "I went to my optician, who had no idea what exactly was wrong and prescribed me steroids."
Today, Prochnow knows that steroids were the worst thing she could have been given to treat the disease. The influencer went temporarily blind in the painful eye.
Anyone who wears contact lenses runs the risk of infection
"82 visits to the doctor, thousands of dollars for eye drops and an operation" later, Prochnow is ready to talk about what happened. And she wants to warn other contact lens wearers.
A doctor finally found out what was behind the stabbing pain in Prochnow's eye. The culprit was so-called acanthamoeba parasites, which she had picked up from the water.
In the rare infection known as Acanthamoeba keratitis, the parasites enter the eye when swimming or bathing in lakes, rivers or swimming pools. But it can also be contracted through tap water or the air. It then eats through the cornea and destroys the eye.
This can go so far that the affected person loses their sight.
Because contact lenses can cause micro-tears in the eye, people with lenses are more susceptible to the parasites. Prochnow emphasizes that she has been wearing contact lenses since she was a teenager and has always been very careful with them.
Infection is very rare
Fortunately, an Acanthamoeba keratitis infection does not occur all that often, as Dr. Philipp Roberts, head of the corneal consultation at the Sulzbach Eye Clinic, told Bild: "According to estimates, there are one to two cases per million people in Europe every year. Worldwide there are just under three."
To get rid of the parasite, Prochnow had to put eye drops in her eye every hour. She has had a successful operation, after which she had to wear a bandage. Since it was removed, she has regained her sight. In an update, she talks about "the craziest time".
"I am so incredibly grateful to have survived this terrible infection, and thankful for my wonderful surgeon, my family," says Rachel Prochnow after surviving the procedure.
