Local10
PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. — A South Florida high school senior nearly lost her vision after a parasite grew on her contact lens and began eating through her cornea. One of Ashley Hyde’s eyes was red and throbbing but doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong.
“They did multiple cultures where they scrape your eye,” she said. “One time, they had to drill into my eye. It was really nasty.”
Doctors discovered Hyde, 18, had anacanthamoeba infection. Acanthamoeba is a microscopic parasite found in water and soil that can spread through contact lens use, cuts, or skin wounds or by being inhaled into the lungs.
Full story: Girl nearly loses sight from infection