A mother from County Durham is warning others after a spray mist bottle fan left her with a rare eye infection called acanthamoeba keratitis (AK). Amy Weatherburn, 30, used the fan to cool down while working at a leisure centre, and now fears she may need a cornea transplant in the future.
Blurred vision led to diagnosis
Amy first noticed her vision had become blurry in her left eye while at work in June 2026. She initially thought it was 'dry eye' caused by the hot weather, but her symptoms worsened until she could not watch TV or face direct sunlight. After visiting an optician, she was referred to an eye specialist who said it was a viral infection similar to herpes or shingles.
Over the next month, the mum of two visited A&E several times as her symptoms did not improve despite taking antiviral gels and tablets. Amy, who was heavily pregnant at the time, spent two months hiding away in the dark and wore sunglasses to her baby shower due to the pain. Her pupil turned 'cloudy', and she feared she might not be able to see her newborn baby when she gave birth.
AK diagnosis and recovery
Following another appointment with an eye specialist, Amy was diagnosed with acanthamoeba keratitis in August 2026. AK is a rare eye infection caused by a parasite burrowing into the cornea. It can be hard to diagnose in the early stages as other corneal infections have similar symptoms.
Amy believes her eye became infected as she was spraying water onto her face through a spray bottle fan while at work to help her cool down. Following her diagnosis, she claims medical professionals believe her low immune system due to pregnancy and the sprayed water were a combined cause of the infection.
After taking eye drops to treat the infection, Amy's vision started to improve and she was able to see her daughter Ember Weatherburn when she gave birth on August 23. Now on the road to recovery, she is raising awareness about AK to avoid the same thing happening to others.
What is AK and how to prevent it
AK is caused by a microscopic free-living amoeba called acanthamoeba and is sometimes linked to contact lens wearers and water exposure. Amy said: "I was using a water bottle with a fan on it and you can spray the water through the fan. It was a lifesaver to get through the heatwave, especially when pregnant. I used it [the water spray bottle] religiously to get through my work days as I work in a swimming pool so it's always set to high temperatures to keep the pools warm."
The amoebas live in pretty much all water sources, as well as soil and the air. If you have a low immune system, an eye injury like a corneal scratch, or wear contact lenses, it makes you more vulnerable. Amy said she didn't have a corneal scratch and had been wearing glasses. She added: "They [doctors] think it's because I had a low immune system and then they [the infection] was in the water in this water bottle."
Amy is still having to take eye drops four times a day and steroids to treat her eye as her vision has not fully returned. While she says it appears like she has a 'lazy eye', Amy has been told there's no longer any sign of infection in her left eye.
Now Amy is raising awareness about how important eye hygiene is to stop this from happening to anyone else. She said: "You can't avoid getting water in your eyes but contact lens wearers should not swim or wear them in the shower. You need to be so careful about getting water near your eye if you're wearing them. If your eye feels dry as well, you shouldn't put your lenses in either. They said mine was nothing to do with contact lenses but it [AK] is just way more common with contact lens wearers."
