Acanthamoeba Keratitis Eye Foundation

13/10/2026

12/10/2026

👁️ MAKING HISTORY. RAISING AWARENESS. 🏃

Meet Charlie Shields, an Acanthamoeba Keratitis (AK) warrior who is taking on an extraordinary challenge.

On 19 October, Charlie will run the Amsterdam Marathon dressed as a Giant Eye in an attempt to break a world record, all while raising awareness of Acanthamoeba Keratitis, a rare but potentially sight-threatening eye infection.

What began as a personal journey has become a mission to help protect the sight of others through education and awareness.

💙 Support Charlie's mission.
💙 One donation, double the impact.
💙 Supporting both the AKE Eye Foundation and Fight for Sight.

Together, we can put Acanthamoeba Keratitis in the spotlight and help prevent avoidable vision loss.

08/10/2026

𝗧𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗗𝗮𝘆, 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗰𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗼𝗲𝗯𝗮 𝗞𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘀, a sight-threatening infection that is becoming increasingly common among contact lens wearers.

𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝘅.
𝗗𝗼𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝘅 𝗶𝘁. 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗱𝗿𝘆. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁

Never take your eyesight for granted. Many AK Warriors wish they had known about the risks before their lives were changed by this devastating infection.

𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄.

07/10/2026

Thank you to Prevent Blindness for declaring October Contact Lens Safety Month and for continuing to raise awareness about safe contact lens wear.

https://www.visionmonday.com/eyecare/article/prevent-blindness-declares-october-as-contact-lens-safety-month-3/

At the Acanthamoeba Keratitis Eye Foundation, we fully support initiatives that promote prevention through education. With more than 150 million contact lens wearers worldwide, raising awareness about proper lens hygiene and the risks associated with water exposure is more important than ever.

As a patient-led organization dedicated exclusively to Acanthamoeba Keratitis (AK), we would like to respectfully add a few observations from the patient community.

While AK is often described as a rare infection, cases continue to increase among contact lens wearers worldwide. Prevention messages can be strengthened by emphasizing not only that contact lenses and water do not mix, but also the importance of washing and thoroughly drying hands before handling lenses, never rinsing lenses or cases with tap water, and replacing lens cases regularly.

We also believe symptom awareness is critical. AK does not always present with severe pain at the start. Early symptoms may include blurred vision, redness, light sensitivity, tearing, or simply the sensation that something is in the eye.

Most importantly, AK is more than an eye infection. It can be excruciating, debilitating, isolating, traumatic, and life-changing.

Some patients face months or years of treatment, permanent vision loss, corneal transplantation, and in the most severe cases, loss of the eye.

We are grateful to Prevent Blindness and all organizations working to advance contact lens safety. By combining clinical expertise with patient experience, we can deliver even stronger prevention messages and help protect vision. Because if there is one thing AK patients consistently tell us, it is: I wish I had known.

CHICAGO—Prevent Blindness, a leading patient advocacy organization, has declared October as Contact Lens Safety Month to provide educational resources to consumers and encourage healthy habits for contact lens use.

04/10/2026

A AK Eye Foundation convida os AK Warriors do Brasil a contribuir para um futuro melhor através da pesquisa.

Cada experiência com a ceratite por Acanthamoeba é única. Mas, juntos, nossos desafios, histórias e aprendizados podem contribuir para um melhor entendimento da doença e ajudar a melhorar o caminho para futuros pacientes.

Por isso, a AK Eye Foundation tem o prazer de apoiar a divulgação desta pesquisa conduzida pelo .ufsc (Laboratório de Pesquisa em Doenças da Córnea e Superfície Ocular) da UFSC, sob a coordenação da Prof.ª Dr.ª Silva Caumo.


🔬 Se você já teve ou está atualmente em tratamento para ceratite por Acanthamoeba, sua participação é extremamente valiosa.

Ao compartilhar sua experiência, você estará ajudando a:

💙 Levar a perspectiva dos pacientes para a pesquisa científica
💙 Ampliar o conhecimento sobre a realidade dos pacientes no Brasil
💙 Apoiar futuras melhorias no diagnóstico e tratamento
💙 Ajudar os futuros AK Warriors a enfrentarem uma jornada melhor

Sua voz importa. Sua história importa. Sua experiência pode fazer a diferença.

📋 O questionário é online e leva aproximadamente 15 a 20 minutos para ser respondido.

🔒 A participação é voluntária e confidencial.

📌 Pesquisa aprovada pelo Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa da UFSC
CAAE: 32938014.5.0000.0121

🔗 Participe da pesquisa pelo link ou QR Code da imagem.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeGnhbqer6Ei9v_R_nHTEyHMMf1g32t6qWGXBgAsat7CrOLXw/viewform?usp=header

Juntos, podemos transformar experiências em conhecimento, e conhecimento em esperança para os próximos AK Warriors.

03/10/2026

Queremos expresar nuestro agradecimiento a Jonathan Stefely y a su equipo de investigación por su valioso trabajo para avanzar en la comprensión de Acanthamoeba, así como a Juan Scaliter y a Periódico La Razón por dar visibilidad a esta importante investigación y acercarla a los pacientes, profesionales sanitarios y al público general. La concienciación comienza con la información, y cada artículo que ayuda a difundir conocimiento sobre esta enfermedad también contribuye a generar esperanza para quienes convivimos con sus consecuencias.

Aunque la queratitis por Acanthamoeba sigue clasificándose como una enfermedad rara, cada vez se notifican más casos entre usuarios de lentes de contacto.

Para quienes lo han vivido, no se trata simplemente de una infección ocular: puede ser una experiencia extremadamente dolorosa, debilitante y emocionalmente devastadora, con un profundo impacto en todos los aspectos de la vida. En los casos más graves, puede provocar una pérdida significativa de visión e incluso la pérdida del ojo afectado.

Conocemos de primera mano el dolor, los largos tratamientos, la incertidumbre, el aislamiento y el impacto psicológico que esta enfermedad puede causar. Por eso, cada avance en la investigación representa una esperanza real para nuestra comunidad.

Por eso resulta tan alentador ver cómo la investigación sigue avanzando. Este artículo destaca el trabajo liderado por Jon Stefely y su equipo, que están ayudando a comprender mejor la biología de Acanthamoeba e identificando posibles nuevas dianas terapéuticas para desarrollar tratamientos más eficaces y menos tóxicos en el futuro.

Para nuestra comunidad de pacientes, cada avance científico importa. Cada nuevo conocimiento nos acerca a mejores diagnósticos, mejores tratamientos y, algún día, a soluciones que puedan reducir el enorme impacto físico y emocional que esta enfermedad puede provocar. 🔬 Más investigación. 👁️ Diagnóstico precoz. 🦠 Mayor concienciación.

Artículo completo publicado por La Razón: https://www.larazon.es/ciencia/esta-ameba-puede-quedarse-vivir-tus-ojos-farmacos-detienen_202610016abe757efb43da4b7c316522.html

Cuando consigue entrar en ellos, encuentra un territorio que puede colonizar y en el que es extraordinariamente difícil expulsarla.

03/10/2026

🔍 LOOKING FOR AK EXPERTISE?

Did you know that we at Acanthamoeba Keratitis Eye Foundation maintain a directory of clinics and specialists that have been recommended by fellow AK warriors based on their personal experiences?

🌍 The directory includes locations from around the world and is designed to help patients identify clinicians who may have experience treating Acanthamoeba Keratitis.

💙 This is a community-driven resource, and we'd love your help keeping it up to date.

📍 Know a clinic or specialist with AK experience that is not currently listed?

Please email the details to [email protected] so we can review and consider adding them to the directory.

🔗 Visit the directory:
https://akeyefoundation.com/clinics/

Thank you for helping us grow this patient-led resource for the AK community. Together, we can make it easier for current and future AK warriors to find experienced care. 💙🌍

21/09/2026

💙 AK warrior Charlie continues the fight.

Ten months on, active Acanthamoeba are still present, but Charlie keeps pushing forward with incredible determination. Every step forward is a victory in this long battle. 👁️🤺

As he continues his recovery journey, Charlie is preparing to run the Amsterdam Marathon as The One Eyed Baker, aiming to break a world record while running dressed as an eye. 🏃‍♂️👁️

The challenge is partially supported by Avanzanite Bioscience.

Charlie is also independently raising funds for AK awareness, research, and patient support, with donations shared between Acanthamoeba Keratitis Eye Foundation and Fight for Sight

If you'd like to support Charlie and his incredible challenge, please visit oneeyed_baker.

Wishing Charlie strength and success every step of the way. 💙

📷 oneeyed_baker

21/09/2026

Sharing Grace’s story
jamisonn is a bilateral Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) warrior sharing her experience to help raise awareness of this sight-threatening infection.

Her journey highlights the importance of prevention, early diagnosis, and never giving up.

Want to learn more about AK and how to reduce your risk?

👉 Follow

🎥 .jaminsonn