Laura Hawkins, 24, woke up one day while travelling across Australia in ‘excruciating’ pain.
She was unable to open her right eye, despite having used eye drops from the pharmacist the previous day in an attempt to treat what she thought was just run-of-the-mill conjunctivitis.
‘I got someone at the hostel to drive me straight to A&E because I just knew something was not right,’ said Laura, who was three months into her adventure to Australia.
‘I’d had conjunctivitis before and this was definitely not it.
‘I woke up and I couldn’t physically open my eye.
‘Even just a tiny bit of light getting in my eye would feel like a burning or stabbing pain.
‘Throughout the day before, my eye had gotten more swollen and shut over and gunky which I knew wasn’t good, and then the morning after, I just couldn’t open my eye at all so I couldn’t tell if I could see or not.’
At the hospital Laura was sent straight to an optimologist, who discovered that Laura had a corneal ulcer, which left untreated could have left her blind.
And the cause of this? Laura’s dirty makeup bag.
Laura had started wearing glasses when she was 10 years old and made the switch to contact lenses when she was 16.
She had been using two-week disposable contact lenses where she would take them out before bed, placing them in a saline solution overnight and putting them back in in the morning.
The contact lenses were supposed to last for two weeks but despite Laura’s careful handling, it appears one lens picked up bacteria from the makeup bag where they were stored.
After a course of strong painkillers and eye drops, doctors scraped bacterial cells from Laura’s eye for testing.
They believe the bacterial infection was picked up from her makeup bag, where the contact lens case had been stored every night during her time in Australia.
Laura was in hospital for over a week then had to recover at a friend’s house for nearly a month.
Despite three cancelled flights due to the pandemic, Laura was finally able to return home to her family with a huge eye patch over her eye on the plane on March 26.
Over a year on from her scary experience, Laura now has permanent scarring on her right eye and has just been referred for a corneal transplant on the NHS.
Laura, who works as a personal trainer, said: ‘I’ve been left with really bad scarring as it was really deep and on my vision.
‘Doctors said wait a year and see if the vision is any better but if not, I can have a corneal transplant so I’m being referred for that now.
‘My peripheral vision and central to the right vision in my right eye, it’s now like there’s a white sheet over it.
‘I can’t really see that well out of that eye, and especially when it’s night time and there’s bright lights, I just can’t see. I tried driving at night and I just can’t do that now.
‘Looking in the mirror, I can see there’s like a white bit from my pupil to the outside colour of my iris. I can see the scarring in photos as well.
‘I’d been wearing contact lenses for a good few years before this and never had any problem but I also didn’t know the risk of wearing them.
‘I always cleaned my hands before and after putting the contact lenses in and I used the saline solution as you’re supposed to.
‘What the doctors think happened is that either I scratched my eye taking the lenses out or the contact lens itself was contaminated.
‘I’d taken the lenses out the night before and everything had seemed normal. I definitely don’t think I scratched my eye, it didn’t hurt at all when I took the lenses out.
‘I didn’t wear contact lenses for over half a year after this happened, I just stuck to glasses, I didn’t want to put anything near my eye.
‘I have researched into contact lenses since and whilst it isn’t common, people do get infections from their contact lenses so I think there should be more pre-warning when you get given them at your eye test as this was so bad.
‘Nobody warned me what could happen – they told me the importance of cleaning my hands and using the saline solution, which I always did, but they never said that this could happen.’
Specsavers clinical services director, Giles Edmonds, said: ‘It’s important that good hygiene is always followed when handling contact lenses. You wouldn’t put something dirty into your mouth so why would you do the same with your eyes?
‘Clean, dry hands should always be used when putting in and taking out lenses and always rub, rinse and store your lenses in the recommended solution.
‘You need to be mindful of where you store your lens case too as it can easily pick up bacteria in its surroundings, which can result in red eyes, irritation or even infection.
‘For example, if you keep your lenses in a makeup bag, which is a breeding ground for bacteria, always be sure to wash your hands after opening the case and before handling your lenses.
‘Don’t forget to clean your case regularly too as advised by your optician.
‘To keep your eyes healthy, you should also apply your lenses before putting on makeup.
‘Contact lens wearers shouldn’t use tap water or any other water on your lenses or case and should remove lenses before going in the shower or swimming to also reduce the risk of bacteria getting into the eye.’
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Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.
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