A 19-year-old woman has gone viral on TikTok after revealing she is "going blind" from a rare eye infection caused by showering with her contact lenses.
Grace Jamison shared her story in a video explaining that she was diagnosed two months ago with Acanthamoeba keratitis - a serious eye infection that can lead to permanent vision loss or even blindness.
This infection is caused by an amoeba, a microscopic creature similar to bacteria that can get into one's eye through contact lenses, the Cleveland Clinic explained.
According to the teen, the bacteria “can be found everywhere,” including well water, lakes, shower water, dust, and dirt, adding: “Anyone can get Acanthamoeba, but most commonly, people who wear contact lenses and don’t take care of their contacts."
Intense treatment and long recovery
Jamison believes she contracted the infection after showering with her contact lenses while living in the Dominican Republic.
In the TikTok, she explained that the condition is very hard to treat and will take at least six months of care, followed by further treatments to address “scarring and damage” to her eyes.
She applies eye drops every 30 minutes to an hour, each containing different chemicals aimed at killing the amoebas.
"Right now, my eyes are looking better than they did before. That's just because I'm on steroid drops," she said.
"You have to switch between steroids or going off steroids to help kill the amoebas better.
"So right now, it's looking a lot less red, less irritated, and there's a lot less visible cloudiness in my eyes, which is kind of nice."
Brutal symptoms and a powerful warning
The 19-year-old described the symptoms as “pretty brutal,” citing severe eye pain, radiating headaches, vision cloudiness, light sensitivity, and difficulty sleeping. “Very hard to live with,” she said.
"The point of this video is to raise awareness about this issue, and tell people, please take care of your contacts," she urged.
"It is the small and simple things that we are asked to do that are so important to take care of your eyes because a lot of people, me included, take vision for granted, and how important and amazing it is that we can see."
She advised contact lens users to always wash their hands before handling lenses, clean their solution, and never sleep or shower in their lenses. “Going blind, having Acanthamoeba keratitis or any other eye problems that come from not taking care of your contacts is really rough.”
Many people have flooded the comment section of Jamison’s video with support and shock.
"This should be better known to contact wearers. No eye doctor warned me about this. Thanks for the info, and I hope you get better," one user said.
Another wrote: "As a contact wearer, I literally have never heard of this before, and I’m shocked that nobody ever informed me. Thank you so much for sharing this."
A third added: "I never take my contacts out. EVER. I’ve had the same pair in for ab 3 months probably. I will be taking them out from here on out."
Another case: Mother goes blind while pregnant
Jamison’s story echoes that of Rachel Prochnow from Austin, Texas, who also contracted Acanthamoeba keratitis - despite wearing contact lenses responsibly since she was 12 years old.
In 2023, while 34 weeks pregnant, Prochnow said she “went blind” in one eye after taking a shower with her lenses in. She has since undergone a cornea transplant and is continuing to recover.
"I thought I was doing everything right," Prochnow told Newsweek. "I never slept in them, I replaced my lenses with a new set when I was supposed to, I only used contact solution to store them in, and even replaced my contact lens case once every two months."
She added: "It wasn't even written on the packaging of the lenses to not get them near tap water. You have to delve deeply into the manufacturer's instruction care PDF online to find this information."
Acanthamoeba keratitis is relatively rare, but it can be devastating. "It happens when you are wearing your contacts and you shower, swim, or hot tub with them in," the content creator said.
"You can get it anytime your contacts come in contact with tap water, so this includes washing your face with your contacts in. Contacts create microfissures in the eye that are so small you typically don't notice them, but when water with these amoebas goes over your eye, some can get stuck in between the lens and your eye," she warned.