Actress-author Maricar Reyes shared her concerning experience with how improper use of colored contact lenses caused her to nearly lose her sight.
The 42-year-old detailed her experience in a TikTok video posted on May 25 that gathered around 5.9 million views as of this writing.
Having been wearing contact lenses for more than a decade, the actress admitted that she became complacent, using expired ones that caused the “most excruciating eye pain in her entire life.”
“Three days akong halos bulag dahil sa maling pagsuot ng contact lenses,” she began. “I’d wear them to taping for 12–15 hours. Minsan nga expired; ‘yung suot ko, okay lang, walang issue. But a few months ago, after wearing my colored contact lenses for about 12 hours, nakaramdam ako ng konting pain sa mata.”
“I thought it’s just normal, pagod lang. So tinanggal ko ‘yung contact lenses ko before going to sleep at natulog na ako. Then at around 3 a.m., nagising ako to the most excruciating eye pain in my entire life,” she continued.
@maricareyespoon Masyadong nakampante🤪 #learningontiktok #advice #advicetok #contactlens #opthalmologist #eyecare #maricarreyespoon #maricarreyesbook ♬ original sound – Maricar Reyes-Poon
Because of that untolerable eye pain, Reyes shared that she was rushed to the hospital’s emergency room, where she found out that she was suffering from “corneal abrasions,” or the large scratches on the surface of eyes where the contact lenses rest.
“So for the next three days, halos hindi ko madilat ‘yung mga mata ko sa sobrang sakit at maga,” she said.
After her diagnosis, the “May Bukas Pa” actress admitted that she became an irresponsible user of contact lenses, wearing them for more than 12 hours instead of just 8 hours, which is a dangerous thing to do.
“After 7 days, gumaling naman ‘yung mga ko sa mata, pero sabi ng ophthalmologist ko, napakaswerte ko daw dahil sa laki ng mga sugat ko sa mata, pwede akong magkaroon ng mga peklat or mga puti-puti sa paningin ko, habang buhay,” Reyes expressed.
Given her experience, the actress reminded the netizens to take care of their eyes properly, especially if they are also fond of wearing contact lenses.
“If you are like me, a regular contact lens wearer, na minsan lumalampas sa 8 hours a day ang pagsuot at minsan din nakakalimutan ‘yung expiry date ‘nung contact lenses, huwag mong paabutin sa level ko na bigla ka nalang magigising na may sugat ka na sa mata at kailangan mong tumakbo sa E.R. Dahil sa sobrang sakit,” she said.
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