TikToker who went viral for using same contact lens for 3 years ends up with permanent eye damage

Doug, a TikToker, gained huge attention on social media when he revealed that he had worn the same pair of contact lenses continuously for three years, neglecting to remove them even for sleep or eye checkups. 

"I put on a pair of contacts in 2012 and I didn't take them out until sometime in 2015," said Doug, who posts as @catsupwithdoug, in a video that now has nearly 4,00,000 likes.

What

Doug, who considers himself a responsible contact lens user, exceeded the recommended duration for wearing contact lenses in his 20s. He was influenced by a friend who mentioned their ability to sleep while wearing lenses without any issues. 

Despite having health insurance that included coverage for eye check ups, Doug chose not to replace his contacts because they appeared to be functioning properly. He held on to the belief that as long as the contacts remained intact without any tears or damage, there was no need to discard them.

After wearing contacts continuously, Doug experienced the unfortunate consequence of developing permanent astigmatism and experiencing “build up” behind his eyelids, he explained on TikTok, reported Business Insider.

Although his eyes eventually recovered after a year of exclusively wearing glasses, Doug and his doctor made the joint decision that it would be in his best interest to abstain from using contact lenses. Doug and his doctor got to this resolution eight years ago, and since then, Doug has stuck to it. 

Throwback: The man who lost his eye to flesh-eating parasite

Earlier this year, in another bizarre incident, a man suffered loss of vision after sleeping with his contact lenses on due to a rare flesh-eating parasite. 

Mike Krumholz, a 21-year-old from Florida, US, had become accustomed to occasional eye infections from forgetting to remove his contacts. 

Mike's reluctance to take his lenses out every night eventually took a severe turn when he was diagnosed with acanthamoeba keratitis in his right eye. 

He created a page on GoFundMe in February this year to spread awareness on such issues concerning contact lens wearers, and also sought support to help him fight the parasite. 

So far, the page claims to have raised $25 million from the community, with 200 million+ individual donations. 

Krumholz narrated his journey on his page.

"I woke up and it felt like bad allergies or maybe even pink eyes. I was misdiagnosed with HSV1 in my eye but after five different ophthalmologists and 2 cornea specialist visits, I was diagnosed with a very rare parasite in my eye called acanthamoeba keratitis," the 21-year-old said.

"I have had one surgery so far called PDT relocation of the conjunctival flap," Krumholz said, adding that it is extremely painful and he has "absolutely no vision" in one eye.

He urged fellow contact lens users to refrain from sleeping or showering while they are on.