A California eye doctor has said an elderly patient who came in complaining of blurry vision ended up having 23 disposable contact lenses in her right eye. Photographs and a video of a cascade of contact lenses being removed from a woman’s eye have since gone viral on the social media.
The patient, who is in her 70s, had been avoiding regular visits with her eye doctor because she was afraid of being infected with COVID-19. When she finally came to see the doctor in early September, the woman said she felt something foreign in her right eye.
Viral Video of Removing 23 Contact Lenses from a Forgetful Patient’s Eye
After retrieving a few contact lenses from her eye and spotting more of them, the doctor told her assistant to record the removal on her phone. They thought that this could be their Guinness Book of World Record moment[1].
‘An elderly woman who thought there was “something in her eye” actually had 23 daily disposable contact lenses lodged under her eyelid.’
Finding a patient with 23 disposable contact lenses in one eye is not a record-breaking number, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology. In 2017, doctors preparing a 67-year-old British woman for cataract surgery found 27 contact lenses in her eye.
Patients with contact lenses in their eyes might experience a burning sensation “like dry eye”. Decades of contact-lens wearing can desensitize their eyes, making it less likely that people will feel the missing contact lenses, even if they’re trapped inside their eyes.
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In her case, all those contact lenses were able to hide like a stack of pancakes really far deep inside the least sensitive part of the eye.
The doctor told the media outlets that her patient wanted to remain anonymous, but she had returned for one follow up visit and had already resumed wearing her contact lenses, despite the doctor’s suggestion that she try giving her eyes a break[2].
Always remember that if you’re not able to remove your contact or pieces of your contact lenses, it’s important to see your doctor. You should also seek medical help if your eye has become very irritated or red, or if you think you have scratched or damaged your eye, regardless of whether you were able to remove your lens.
References:
- Independent Asia Edition.(https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/california-eye-doctor-contact-lenses-b2202539.html)
- Nexstar Media Inc.(https://ktla.com/news/local-news/guinness-book-of-records-patient-woman-has-23-contact-lenses-removed-from-her-eye-at-orange-county-ophthalmologist/)
Source: Medindia
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