Maureen Larrazabal went blind for two years from contacts

Actress Maureen Larrazabal recently shared her experience of going blind for two years because of contact lenses. She slept with her lenses on, which led to a severe eye infection. During an appearance on the show “Lutong Bahay,” she explained how a bacteria, Pseudomonas, entered her eye and quickly caused damage. Larrazabal described the infection as so severe that it "melted" her cornea. She recalled, “I slit open my cornea, Pseudomonas got in... It takes only a few hours for that bacteria to melt your eye in 24 hours.” This type of infection can have serious effects on the body. The actress was in Hong Kong when the incident happened. After returning home, she immediately went to a hospital in the Philippines for a corneal transplant. She said, “When they opened it, it was all pus and then it was gone.” Larrazabal mentioned that this ordeal occurred in the 1990s while she was working on a program called “Kool Ka Lang.” She expressed gratitude to her network, GMA, for not removing her from the show during her recovery. She noted, “I had something to look forward to because every week I came to work wearing shades.” Her story highlights the potential dangers of improper contact lens use. Last year, fellow actress Maricar Reyes shared a similar experience with colored contact lenses that nearly caused her to lose her sight.