UK man diagnosed with eye-eating parasite: 'I didn’t know the full risks'

NewsMan diagnosed with eye-eating parasite after wearing contact lenses in swimming poolA United Kingdom man has a rare parasitic eye infection caused by an amoeba after swimming in Bali with contact lenses in his eyes Wikimedia CommonsA United Kingdom man has a rare parasitic eye infection caused by an amoeba after swimming in Bali with contact lenses in his eyes Matt Flack had scans and a corneal microscopy to reveal he has acanthamoeba keratitis (AK), per PEOPLE.Symptoms include eye pain, a sensation of something being stuck in the eye, watering, light sensitivity, redness, irritation and blurred or clouded vision.“It’s essentially a parasite eating away at my eye,” Flack said. “When the doctors told me it was that, I (felt) big panic and I was very scared.“I’m not ashamed to admit I had a little cry. At that point, I thought, ‘Well, I’m going to lose an eye.’ ”Flack believes he contracted the infection from a swimming pool in Bali.“I’ve done a lot of swimming in pools in Bali and had contacts in. It’s one of those things I’ve never really thought about — I’ve probably been quite blase with it,” he said. “Perhaps I didn’t know the full risks, but I wish I had.”In May, Flack traveled from the U.K. to Bali, where he spent two months. At first, the 38-year-old thought his eye was irritated by sand and saltwater from surfing, per Kennedy News and Media. He removed the lenses, but then found that he was struggling to open his left eye.Flack is now dealing with an uncertain prognosis for his eye. His doctors have put him on a three-month course of drops to hopefully eliminate the parasite.Mark Heim is a senior writer who provides sports, news and trending content. He co-hosts a daily sports radio show on WNSP-FM 105.5 in Mobile. Heim has been recognized with awards for his writing, headlines and...