Health SOS
The best health advice for you and your family
What I thought was conjunctivitis turned out to be something much more frightening…
Grabbing my towel, I headed to the showers. In a bid to feel healthier, I’d started swimming at a public pool.
That night, when I washed my face before bed, I felt fine, but next morning, my left eye felt itchy and sore. After trying over-the-counter drops, I went to the GP for antibiotics, but they didn’t help so I went back for another appointment.
‘It hurts to even look at the light,’ I explained.
Concerned, my GP advised me to see an optician, who referred me to hospital.
There, I was diagnosed with a herpes simplex eye infection.
I’d never even had a cold sore, so I was shocked. Prescribing steroids and antibiotic drops, the doctor told me I’d receive a letter with an appointment to see him the following week. But weeks went by, and I called the hospital a number of times to chase it up.
I even turned up there — and was sent home with more steroids.
Then one morning, after 10 weeks of taking steroids, I woke up in immense pain. When I tried to open my eye, everything was blurry. I’m going blind, I thought, panicking.
Terrified, I rushed to hospital.
‘You have a parasite in your eye,’ the consultant explained.
The parasite, called acanthamoeba keratitis, had been eating away at the cornea of my eye.
Even more frightening, my vision started deteriorating furt
