A woman on Instagram warned viewers against wearing contacts in the shower after she went blind in one eye and required a cornea transplant.
Rachel Prochnow explained in a video shared to Instagram how she contracted Acanthamoeba kerititas—an infection caused by cornea-eating amoebae—and her journey to being able to see once again.
Prochnow began her first video showing a close-up photo of her two differently colored eyes, one yielding a red sclera, and text that read:
"One year ago I went blind in one eye from showering in my contacts."
Zooming in on the injured eye, it continued:
"It was the most horrible pain I've ever experienced."
The video then cut to a shot of Prochnow and her spouse before she went in for a cornea transplant.
"And today's the day I finally get my cornea transplant and hopefully my vision back!"
The creator shared that the surgery went well, and the video ended with the couple on the way home from the hospital.
She explained in the caption:
"On July 3, 2023 I was diagnosed with Acanthamoeba Kerititas, a parasite that destroys your cornea. I got it from showering in my contacts in Austin, Texas."
"I had been wearing contacts since I was 12 and no eye doctor I had ever been to told me to not shower, swim, or hot tub in my contacts. I always washed my hands before handling them, never slept in them, replaced my contact case every 2 month, and didn’t overwear my contacts (I wore monthlies and replaced them every month)."
"I thought I was doing everything right. I wasn’t."
Prochnow continued:
"Contacts create micro fissures in your cornea."
"These are so small you don’t notice them. But when water that has acanthamoeba gets between your contact and your eye, these amoebas latch on to these micro fissures, burrow into your cornea and begin destroying it."
"Unfortunately, acanthamoeba is in every water source (except boiled water). So you’re in risk if you are wearing contacts and water gets in your eyes."
"I had to do around the clock drops every hour for 3 months of Chlorohexidine/PHMB. It was the most pain I could ever imagine."
She finished her post expressing her gratitude for both her medical team and her support team.
"I am so incredibly thankful to be through this horrific infection, and thankful for my wonderful surgeon, my family, the organ donor and their family, and God who got me through the hardest time of my life."
"Please spread awareness by sending this to all your friends who wear contacts."
You can watch below.
A month later Prochnow took to Instagram once again to update her followers on her progress since the cornea transplant.
The redness and discoloration was completely unnoticeable in the follow-up, and the creator shared that she "can see again." In fact, she revealed, "almost immediately" after the surgery she could see better than before the transplant.
She did share some issues she was having with the transplant. For example, the pupil in the injured eye wasn't "contracting" with light, but she added that it's "no big deal."
She's just "so happy" she is able to see again.
You can watch the follow-up below.
Viewers of Prochnow's videos were mortified, as many were unaware of the consequences of showering with contacts.
@rachelprochnow/Instagram
Several also thanked the creator for bringing awareness to the topic.
@rachelprochnow/Instagram
@rachelprochnow/Instagram
@rachelprochnow/Instagram
And others expressed their delight that she is recovering so well.
@rachelprochnow/Instagram
@rachelprochnow/Instagram
@rachelprochnow/Instagram
@rachelprochnow/Instagram
A few even shared their own scares with Acanthamoeba.
@rachelprochnow/Instagram
@rachelprochnow/Instagram
@rachelprochnow/Instagram
@rachelprochnow/Instagram
What a terrifying experience!
We're so happy she's doing well and that she's sharing information with others.
