Woman Forced to Give Birth Early After Making Simple Mistake of Wearing Contact Lenses in Shower
In a troubling health incident, Rachel Prochnow, a Texas lifestyle writer, shared her experience of how a simple mistake—showering with contact lenses—led to severe complications during her pregnancy. This lapse caused a parasite from the water to infect her eye, resulting in acanthamoeba keratitis, a painful condition that worsened her vision rapidly. Despite being only 27 weeks pregnant, Prochnow had to undergo an early delivery due to her deteriorating health. Fortunately, her son Lachlan was born healthy. Reflecting on her harrowing ordeal, Prochnow emphasizes the importance of not exposing eyes to water while wearing contact lenses and advocates for greater awareness regarding eye care, especially among contact lens users. Her story, which gained significant traction on social media, serves as a cautionary tale about the potential dangers of such everyday activities.
A little mistake led to a lot of trouble for one pregnant Texas mother last year.
The mistake made by Texas lifestyle writer Rachel Prochnow is one many likely would have made — she showered with her contact lenses still in.
Everything went downhill from there, eventually leading to Prochnow being forced to give birth earlier than expected, according to the U.K. Daily Mail.
At first, her eye began to itch. Then, it slowly became more and more irritated to the point that the pain was worse than childbirth itself.
While showering, a parasite from the water made its way into her eye, giving her acanthamoeba keratitis, a serious condition.
90 percent of those diagnosed with acanthamoeba keratitis wear contact lenses, the Daily Mail reported.
The lenses themselves cause very small, seemingly harmless tears in the eye. Parasites can then enter these tears, wreaking havoc after they do so.
Prochnow later learned that exposing her eyes to water — via showering, hot tubbing, swimming, etc. — can lead to infections such as this.
It only took two weeks for the blindness in her infected eye to set in.
As things got worse, doctors determined they would need to induce her pregnancy, even though she was only 27 weeks in.
Thankfully, her son Lachlan made it through the incredibly early delivery, which took place in July 2023.
“Had my parents and Cameron not been fully committed to getting me through this – I would have without a doubt lost it,” Prochnow said, per the Daily Mail.
View this post on Instagram
Prochnow later d her story on Instagram. Her post has since garnered over 742,000 likes.
“PSA: DO NOT SHOWER, SWIM, OR HOT TUB IN YOUR CONTACTS,” Prochnow wrote. “11 months ago, my life was completely changed. After 82 doctor visits, traveling over 12,000 miles for specialized medical care, thousands of dollars in compounded eye drops, and one surgery, I feel able to my story.”
After two weeks of doctors visits, I finally was referred to the most incredible eye doctor in Austin and he diagnosed me with the worst infection you can get in your eye-Acanthamoeba Kerititas (AK).”
I had been wearing contacts since I was 12 and was never told not swim, shower, or hot tub in them.”
" Conservative News Daily does not always share or support the views and opinions expressed here; they are just those of the writer."
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
Now loading...