Giving voice to acanthamoeba keratitis risks

Charlotte’s eye infection

A young women who lost her sight in one eye after contracting acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) is joining Fight for Sight in raising awareness of the dangers of poor contact lens hygiene.

Charlotte Clarkson from Edinburgh is taking part in Fight for Sight’s 20 Voices for 2020 campaign, to raise awareness of the personal impact of sight loss. Charlotte was on her gap year in Canada when she contracted AK. Read her story here.

Director of engagement at Fight for Sight, Sarah Campion, said: “Acanthamoeba keratitis can have serious consequences and even result in blindness; our research has shown that cases are on the increase, so it’s vital that people practice good contact lens habits. People who wear contact lenses need to make sure they thoroughly wash and dry their hands before handling them, and should never wear them while swimming, face washing or bathing.”

In 2018 Fight for Sight funded research found a threefold increase in AK since 2011. Reusable contact lens wearers with the eye infection were more likely to have used an ineffective contact lens solution, have contaminated their lenses with water or reported poor contact lens hygiene, according to the findings published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

The 20 Voices campaign is part of Fight for Sight’s wider 2020 campaign, which includes a major research study – Time to Focus – showing the economic and personal impact of sight loss, which was published in September.

To learn more about AK and Fight for Sight’s 2020 campaign visit the charity’s website at www.fightforsight.org.uk

As reported by DO Online, Fight for Sight’s research study found that the economic cost of sight loss was now priced at £26.2bn across the whole UK. The research charity estimates that this cost will rise to £33.5bn in 2050 – and is calling for urgent investment in eye research.