I thought I had an eyelash in my eye – then doctors found parasites burrowed into my cornea after making common mistake
DOCTORS found parasites burrowed into a woman's cornea after she made a common mistake while swimming in the pool.
Maureen Cronin at first thought she had eyelash stuck in her eye , but the pain worsened until it felt like something was "scratching [her] eye from the inside".
The lifeguard began offering swimming lessons to young children in their private backyard pools in June last year.
But after teaching seven children while wearing her contact lenses in the water, the 53-year-old claims her right eye began to irritate her.
Maureen said it felt like she had a piece of sand stuck in her eye and when the pain became "excruciating" she visited an eye doctor who prescribed her eye drops.
However, her eye continued to get worse and she reportedly continued to be misdiagnosed with condition like herpes and get sent home with more medication.
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It was only when the former comms executive visited an ophthalmologist in August that she was eventually diagnosed with acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) - a rare parasitic eye infection.
Maureen was hospitalised at Stony Brook University Hospital in New York for 48 days before undergoing a cornea transplant in September 2024.
Sadly her eye rejected the transplant and she claims the steroid drops prescribed to ease the pain have caused her to develop glaucoma.
Due to this, Mauren says she is now almost completely blind in her right eye and is waiting to undergo a second cornea transplant to hopefully restore some of her vision.
Shocking photos show Maureen's once light blue eye now cloudy and with an enlarged pupil caused by the infection.
Following her AK diagnosis, she's raising awareness about the dangers of wearing contact lenses in the pool - as she claims she was never told not to do so.
Maureen, from Rockville Centre, New York, US, said: "I was giving lessons to kids in backyard pools.
"I had about six or seven clients and I would go to their home and teach their kids, who were all under seven, how to swim.
"I would teach them how to not be afraid to put their face in the water and because you have to be able to get to a child quickly, you have to be able to go under water.
"I didn't know this [that you shouldn't wear them] but I had my contacts in and I would take my goggles off and show them how to go underwater and how fun it was.
"My eye started to bother me pretty quickly.
"Within two weeks I went to an eye doctor and said I was having problems and they said it was a cornea laceration and I had a crack on my cornea and they gave me some drops to take.
"It got worse and then I went back again. They then thought it was a herpes infection and gave me medication for this.
"I then went back and by this point I was in excruciating pain. My eye was worse and I was covering my eye with tissue paper or an eye patch.
What is acanthamoeba keratitis?
Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) is an infection of the cornea, the clear ‘window’ at the front of the eye, that can be very painful.
The infection is caused by a microscopic organism called scanthamoeba, which is common in nature and is usually found in bodies of water -like lakes, oceans and rivers - as well as domestic tap water, swimming pools, hot tubs, soil and air.
Acanthamoeba organisms do not generally cause harm to humans - all we come into contact with them when we wash, swim and drink water.
But they can cause a serious eye disease if they infect the cornea.
AK is most common in people who wear contact lenses, but anyone with a corneal injury is susceptible to developing the infection.
When not treated, it can damage your eyes and cause loss of sight.
Symptoms include:
- Eye pain that's sometimes severe
- Feeling like something’s stuck in your eye but washing your eyes doesn't help, and you can‘t see anything stuck there
- Watery eye
- Light sensitivity
- Eye redness or irritation
- Corneas that appear cloudy, dirty or that have a ring-shaped area on their surface.
- Blurred or clouded vision - this usually happens with severe or advanced cases
Source: Moorfields Eye Hospital, Cleveland Clinic
"My eye felt itchy like I had a piece of sand or an eyelash in it and I was rubbing my eye and making it worse.
"The pain felt like something was scratching my eye from the inside.
"I'm blind now in this eye so it is very upsetting, it's isolating.
"I don't want to meet any new people, it gives me anxiety and I worry about what people think when they see my eye.
"I now have a fear of being near any kind of water. I shower with my goggles on.
"My eye is cloudy because of the cataract and the pupil is large. It's off-putting because the pupil is so big and it looks cloudy."
'Severe case'
After undergoing her first transplant surgery on September 23, Maureen says doctors found "high levels of parasitic activity" on her cornea that was removed.
Maureen said: "At this point [in hospital], my eye was so light sensitive I could barely open it.
"It was summertime and I had the shades drawn and I had ice packs on it all the time.
"They were trying to kill all the parasites and I was told I had a very severe case.
"I was scared about surgery. My eyes have been a defining feature all my life, they are light blue and my dad's eyes and they are noticeable. I get compliments a lot.
"[Following surgery], the eye was sore but it was a different kind of pain. It was surgical pain and I had bandages put on my eye.
"I was on steroid eye drops for the pain and unfortunately these gave me glaucoma in my eye.
"When the doctor got the pathology reports back on the cornea he had removed, he was disappointed to see there was a high activity level of amoeba present, which is why I was still in a lot of pain."
Maureen's warning
Maureen has worn contact lenses for nearly 20 years and claims she was never told to not wear them in the pool.
She is now raising awareness about her AK diagnosis in a bid to warn others about wearing contact lenses around water to stop this from happening to them.
Maureen said: "I am hopeful but fearful at the same time [about the next cornea transplant]. I'm afraid it won't take. It feels like it's never ending and I'm nervous.
Contact lenses dos and don'ts
DO:
- Wash and dry your hands thoroughly before inserting or removing your lenses.
- Take care not to catch the lens or your eye with your fingernails – it is good practice to keep them short.
- Work over a clean, flat surface.
- Use saline solution to rinse your lenses and case.
- Get into the habit of always inserting and removing the same lens first.
- Use the care system recommended to you in the clinic or use the correct cleaning solutions.
DON'T:
- Rinse your lenses and case with tap water as this can increase the risk of eye infections.
- Shower or bath with your lenses in.
- Sleep with your lenses in (unless you have been advised to by your contact lens practitioner).
- Swim with your contact lenses in. This is due to the risk of infection from the water. Prescription swimming goggles and other options may be available. We advise you discuss this with your contact lens practitioner.
Source: Moorfields Eye Hospital
"AK is not well known and it is often misdiagnosed. I would say anyone who wears contact lenses shouldn't wear them near any body of water. Don't even wear them when it rains.
"Secondly, if the first medication doesn't work keep pushing for a diagnosis and go and see an ophthalmologist straight away.
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"If you treat it early, you can kill the parasite and you don't have to go through the hospital and surgery process.
"I was not aware at all, I was never told by my optician to never wear them in water."