A Texas Woman’s Harrowing Battle with <a href="https://time.news/acantameba-and-acanthamoeba-differences/" title=""acantameba" and "Acanthamoeba", differences”>Acanthamoeba Keratitis
A Texas woman, Brooklyn McCasland, left blind in her right eye, is urging others not to make the same mistake she did with contact lenses.
The 23-year-old barista began experiencing the ‘worst pain she’d ever felt’ a few days after a trip to the beach with friends in Alabama in August.
Initially, doctors attributed her pain to sand in her eye, later diagnosing it as a common infection and prescribing eyedrops and antibiotics.
However, the pain persisted for weeks, and the outer layer of her eye began clouding over, leading her doctor to suspect further complications.
After being referred to a specialist, a scan revealed flecks of white, cloudy material indicative of parasites burrowing into her cornea.
McCasland believed she contracted the parasites—which live in tap water, oceans, and lakes—after swimming with her contact lenses in. She stated: ‘If I could have avoided all this pain by not swimming in my contacts, then I would have done it.’
McCasland was forced to stop working at the café as a result of the infection. The pain, which had persisted for a month and a half, made it difficult to work, as did the loss of vision in her left eye, which caused changes to depth perception.
McCasland has lost vision in her right eye and is awaiting an expensive transplant that only has a small chance of restoring her sight.
The parasite, known as Acanthamoeba, can cause significant damage to the eye, burrowing into the cornea and eating away healthy tissue. It is estimated that 1,500 Americans contract this sickness each year, and approximately 90% of these cases occur in contact lens wearers, according to The Cleveland Clinic.
As a result, eye doctors advise against showering, swimming, or using hot tubs while wearing contact lenses.
When the pain began, McCasland visited her optometrist, who mistakenly diagnosed her with a common eye infection and prescribed a series of treatments.
In acanthamoeba keratitis, the parasites burrow into the cornea and begin multiplying, causing sharp pain, cloudy vision, light sensitivity, and in some cases, blindness.
McCasland described the pain as feeling like ‘glass was in your eye’ and stated, “Then my vision started going blurry after several weeks.” Her frustration grew as doctors continued to misdiagnose her condition.
After a month and a half of agony and uncertainty, McCasland sought help from a specialist located four hours away, where she was finally diagnosed with acanthamoeba keratitis.
‘It was a shock but also a relief to have everything answered. For so long being misdiagnosed and not knowing what it is and having it get worse and being in pain,’ she said.
If detected early, doctors can treat the condition effectively with eyedrops containing chlorine, which target the parasites. However, McCasland’s case became severe; she now takes these harsh medications every 30 minutes throughout the day.
In about 40% of cases, surgery becomes necessary, including scraping the eye to remove parasites and potentially requiring a corneal transplant.
McCasland said that for the last 16 years she has been wearing contacts, she never took them out when she went to the pool or shower. She wishes she would have been warned. ‘Now I don’t have eyesight, I’d do anything to get it back. It’d be life-changing for sure.’
McCasland now faces a $5,000 corneal transplant and a staggering $62,000 bill for medications. Reflecting on her nearly two decades of contact use, she expressed regret for her previous practices, such as showering and swimming with her lenses in, and washing her contact case with tap water.
As a result of this debilitating condition, McCasland was forced to leave her job. The loss of vision in one eye has severely affected her depth perception, and exposure to sunlight causes significant pain, making it near impossible to work in a well-lit café.
In light of her circumstances, a friend has established a GoFundMe to support her financially as she awaits surgery, particularly since Texas does not offer short-term disability.