9 investigates has a warning, directly affecting the more than 1 million Floridians, who wear contact lenses.
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report says most of contact lenses wearers are probably putting themselves and their sight at risk.
Channel 9 anchor Jamie Holmes found out how those lenses can attract a parasite with an appetite.
It's not actually the contact lenses that are the problem. It's the people wearing them.
More specifically, it’s how we handle the lenses while showering, swimming or even sleeping.
All that helps attract a microorganism that eats eyes.
“I'm 57 years old, you know, and I never thought I'd end up at a point where I would have to lose an eye,” said Oze McCallum.
His eye was left frosted and deformed, following three surgeries.
McCallum is the victim of a tiny organism that can only be seen only under a microscope.
It's called an acanthameoba.
“I've cried over it and I've been angry over it,” McCallum said. “I've shaken my first and said why is this happening to me?”
And doctors say, unfortunately, the parasite thrives on contact lenses.
Orlando eye doctor Jack Parker, who did not treat McCallum, says too many patients are handling their contact lenses the wrong way.
And he says if the amoeba enters the eye, it will feed on it and it’s excruciating.
“The parasite gets a foothold and starts living and growing in your cornea,” Dr. Parker explained. “You will know it because it's infiltrated along the nerve and you will have pain like ten out of ten.”
The CDC published a report documenting contact lens wearers’ risky behavior. Fifty-percent of those surveyed said they'd slept overnight in their contacts.
Meanwhile, 85 percent have showered in them, and 35 percent actually rinse their lenses in common tap water.
The amoeba lives everywhere, including chlorinated drinking water.
Inserting your lenses with wet hands -- or even washing your lens case with water -- is like rolling out a welcome mat.
“Often you have to do multiple debridements, surgeries, scrapings or even transplants of the whole cornea on emergency basis to get rid of all the infection,” Parker said.
As for McCallum, he says the pain is finally gone, but now so is his eye.
“Maybe my story can help somebody else not have to go through what I'm going through, then maybe there's a reason for it,” McCallum said.
The CDC is focusing on preventative measures lens wearers can take.
Here are some practices to help avoid infections:
Change your lens case every three months.
Do not top off your solution.
Dump it and replace it every night.
Do not sleep in your contacts. The closed eye could help act as an incubator.
And remember, the parasites live in drinking water, so keep your contacts away.