Beware of Fungal Eye Infections

Archives Admin · #1 (**permalink**) 04-20-2006, 12:27 PM

In the wake of last week's removal of Bausch & Lomb ReNu with MoistureLoc contact lens solution from store shelves, it is important for contact lens wearers to pay attention to details about a rare but serious fungal eye infection in case they develop symptoms, a cornea expert at the University of Louisville said.

"The biggest confusion is the difference between an infection caused by a bacteria and fungus," said Dr. Gary Foulks, a professor of ophthalmology at the University of Louisville School of Medicine and winner of an international award for cornea research.

A bacterial infection of the eye is far more common, but it doesn't move as quickly or deeply into the eye as a fungal infection like Fusarium keratitis, which has infected more than 100 people in the United States in the last 10 months and is under investigation by federal health authorities.

Both bacterial and fungus infections start out as redness in the eye, Foulks said. But with the fungal infection, the eye gets redder and the pain is greater.

At first, it feels like there is a foreign object in the eye, but progresses to a deeper pain in the eye.

Discharge from the eye, sensitivity to light and problems with vision also are related to the fungal infection.

Anyone who has these symptoms should immediately discontinue wearing contact lenses and see an ophthalmologist, Foulks said.

It is important to take with you to the eye doctor the lenses you had been wearing, your lens case and any solutions you have been using with your lenses.

This will aid the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in their efforts to pin down any definitive conclusions about the cause of the infections.

Although Bausch and Lomb has withdrawn Renu with MoistureLoc from the market as a possible source of an apparent spike in Fusarium keratitis infections, the link hasn't been proved.

Last week, CDC officials possessed information on only 30 of the cases nationwide, and in only 28 of those cases did the patients wear contact lenses.

Twenty-six of the patients remembered that the solution they used was the ReNu with MoistureLoc product.

Fungal keratitis also can be caused by trauma to the eye and immune deficiencies. An optometrist, who is not a medical doctor, may be able to recognize a fungal eye infection, too, Foulks said. But he recommended going straight to an ophthalmologist, a medical doctor, if you have an infection.

There is a wide range of medications for treating bacterial infections of the eye, but treatment choices for fungal infections are more limited and must be used for weeks or months, Foulks said.

It is possible for a patient with a fungal infection to require a cornea transplant if the infection does severe damage.

Foulks and contact-lenses expert Gerald Lowther, dean of the Indiana University School of Optometry, both urged contact lens wearers to stop using Bausch and Lomb Renu with MoistureLoc. You can contact your eye-care professional to discuss another product to use, Lowther said in a statemen.

Foulks said to look for "comparable solutions by other vendors." He said it isn't necessary to stop wearing contact lenses or to change to a different type.

An outbreak of fungal keratitis also has been reported in Asia, including 75 cases in Singapore between November 2004 and April 2006. The Singapore Ministry of Health is recommending that consumers stop using all ReNu brand multipurpose contact solutions for the time being.

Meanwhile, all who wear contact lenses should review their hygiene practices, eye experts said.

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Beware of Fungal Eye Infections

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