A personal trainer was half-blinded after she got a bacterial infection in her eye - thought to have come from her dirty make-up bag. Laura Hawkins, 24, had been travelling across Australia when she woke up one morning in "excruciating pain" and unable to open her right eye.
Her contact lenses, which had been kept inside her make-up bag, had unknowingly picked up bacteria and infected her eye. It caused a huge ulcer on her cornea that needed immediate medical attention - and could have totally blinded her in one ye if left untreated.
Laura has now been left with extreme scarring on her cornea and is partially blind in her right eye. Laura, from Bristol, said: "I'd been wearing contact lenses for a good few years before this and never had any problem but I also didn't know the risk of wearing them.
"I always cleaned my hands before and after putting the contact lenses in, I used the saline solution as you're supposed to and put the pot into my make-up bag sealed shut. I just woke up one morning and I couldn't physically open my eye. Even just a tiny bit of light getting in my eye would feel like a burning or stabbing pain.
"It's been over a year now and my vision hasn't returned. I can't really see that well out of that eye, and especially when it's nighttime and there are bright lights, I just can't see. Anyone can get contact lenses at your eye test and I just think there should be more pre-warning when you get given them that things like this can happen as this was so bad."
Laura had arrived in Australia with a working visa in December 2019 and had planned to travel for six months before settling down permanently to work down under. Three months into her travelling adventure, she was staying in a hostel in Fremantle, Perth, and had removed her contact lenses as normal on March 3 2020.
Carefully placing the contact lenses into a saline solution pot, she popped the container inside her make-up bag as she did every day before going to bed. She woke up the next day with her right eye feeling sore and "gunky" but thought it could be conjunctivitis as she had previously suffered with that before.
Using eye drops from the pharmacist for conjunctivitis, Laura was surprised to find her eye getting worse over the course of the day and woke up the next morning in agony. She said: "I was in literally the most excruciating pain ever. It was so bad.
"I got someone at the hostel to drive me straight to A&E because I just knew something was not right. I'd had conjunctivitis before and this was definitely not it. I woke up and I couldn't physically open my eye. Even just a tiny bit of light getting in my eye would feel like a burning or stabbing pain.
"Throughout the day before, my eye had gotten more swollen and shut over and gunky which I knew wasn't good, and then the morning after, I just couldn't open my eye at all so I couldn't tell if I could see or not."
Laura started wearing glasses when she was 10 years old and made the switch to contact lenses when she was 16. She had been using two-week disposable contact lenses where she would take them out before bed, placing them in a saline solution overnight and putting them back in in the morning.
The contact lenses were supposed to last for two weeks but despite Laura's careful handling, it appears one lens picked up bacteria that led to an infection in her eye. Doctors found that the infection had resulted in a large ulcer growing on her cornea, causing the agonising pain and could terrifyingly have left her blind if they didn't act fast.
Laura said: "I went to A&E and they sent me to an optimologist who looked me over and said I had a corneal ulcer, which is basically an ulcer on my eye. It was a really, really big one and it was so painful.
"They said they had to treat it quickly because if they left it any longer, it could get way more severe and could even leave me blind. I thought 'oh my God, this is horrible', it was really scary. It was pretty bad, especially with it being my eye, like that's such a big thing. It was not nice.
"I'd never actually stayed in a hospital before and then I was in for a week with my eye with nobody to come see me. The time difference was pretty bad as well so I could barely talk to my family."
After a gruelling course of strong painkillers and eye drops, poor Laura was forced to sit terrified as doctors scraped bacterial cells from her eye for testing. She was in hospital for over a week before returning to the hostel but doctors advised it was not the cleanest environment to stay in whilst recovering from an infection.
Thankfully, Laura's nan had a friend also living in western Australia and Laura was able to go stay with her for a couple of weeks to recover. Despite three cancelled flights due to the pandemic, Laura was finally able to return home to her family with a huge eye patch over her eye on the plane on March 26.
Over a year on from her scary experience, Laura now has permanent scarring on her right eye and has just been referred for a corneal transplant on the NHS. She said: "I've been left with really bad scarring as it was really deep and on my vision. Doctors said wait a year and see if the vision is any better but if not, I can have a corneal transplant so I'm being referred for that now.
"My peripheral vision and central to the right vision in my right eye, it's now like there's a white sheet over it. I can't really see that well out of that eye, and especially when it's nighttime and there are bright lights, I just can't see. I tried driving at night and I just can't do that now.
"Looking in the mirror, I can see there's like a white bit from my pupil to the outside colour of my iris. I can see the scarring in photos as well. I'd been wearing contact lenses for a good few years before this and never had any problem but I also didn't know the risk of wearing them.
"I always cleaned my hands before and after putting the contact lenses in and I used the saline solution as you're supposed to. What the doctors think happened is that either I scratched my eye taking the lenses out or the contact lens itself was contaminated.
"I'd taken the lenses out the night before and everything had seemed normal. I definitely don't think I scratched my eye, it didn't hurt at all when I took the lenses out. I didn't wear contact lenses for over half a year after this happened, I just stuck to glasses, I didn't want to put anything near my eye.
"I have researched into contact lenses since and whilst it isn't common, people do get infections from their contact lenses so I think there should be more pre-warning when you get given them at your eye test as this was so bad. Nobody warned me what could happen - they told me the importance of cleaning my hands and using the saline solution, which I always did, but they never said that this could happen."
Specsavers clinical services director, Giles Edmonds, says: 'It’s important that good hygiene is always followed when handling contact lenses. You wouldn’t put something dirty into your mouth so why would you do the same with your eyes? Clean, dry hands should always be used when putting in and taking out lenses and always rub, rinse and store your lenses in the recommended solution. You need to be mindful of where you store your lens case too as it can easily pick up bacteria in its surroundings which can result in red eyes, irritation or even infection.
'For example, if you keep your lenses in a makeup bag, which is a breeding ground for bacteria, always be sure to wash your hands after opening the case and before handling your lenses. Don't forget to clean your case regularly too as advised by your optician. To keep your eyes healthy, you should also apply your lenses before putting on make-up. Contact lens wearers shouldn't use tap water or any other water on your lenses or case and should remove lenses before going in the shower or swimming to also reduce the risk of bacteria getting into the eye.'
