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LIFESTYLE & COMMUNITY

Young Woman Tried An Acne Treatment And Almost Lost Her Eyesight: “I Was A Day Away From Being Completely Blind”

Date April 24, 2018 12:00

Author By Giselle Foster

Being a teen means you are likely to have not an easy time dealing with many things: parents, who don’t understand you, teachers, who try to fail you on exams, and so on. On the top of that, you are also likely to deal with the worst enemy of all teenagers – acne.

Almost 8 in 10 teens have acne (as well as many adults). It’s a common thing that is considered to be normal. But knowing that doesn’t make it easier when you have to stare at a giant pimple every morning when you look in the mirror.

So you try to find ways to fight the acne-monster, but sometimes, the fight isn't worth the consequences you can get from it.

Emma’s battle with acne

19-year-old Emma O'Mahoney has been suffering from cystic acne since she was 12 years old. She tried Proactive, but it didn’t help.

Then, Emma decided to give medication a chance. For the first time in years, her skin finally started to clear out. Little did she know that the miracle cure will cause her inability to see.

The medication Emma was taking caused spinal fluid to build up in her brain, which led to her optic nerve to swell and as a result, Emma lost a lot of her sight.

When she was admitted to the hospital, the doctors told Emma she was one day away from being completely blind.

The doctors were able to return a good amount of eyesight back over the past year with the help of surgery and heavy medication, but she still has a lack of peripheral vision, she’s blind on the lower half of her eye, and experiences night blindness.

Positivity is a way to go

But Emma doesn’t lose her positivity. She’s finishing her senior year at school online and will be attending college in fall 2018.

She decided to post her story on Instagram.

For those who don't know the story of my eyes, here it is. This time last year, I lost a good amount of my eyesight. The reason I decided to finally tell my "story" on social media is bc I know there are a lot of unanswered questions and if you see me walking around town with a cane, I don't want you to freak out. I'm not posting this for people to feel sorry for me, bc guys, I'm really fine. I just wanted to give an honest update on my life.

Since stopping the medication, the acne came back worse and more painful than ever. Emma tried a lot of natural remedies, but they didn’t help. So she decided to take a different approach.

So I’m going to try something new, I’m going to try liking myself and accepting my skin for what it’s is. Of course, I’m going to continue to search for ways to treat my skin, but I’m going to stop looking in the mirror and hating myself for something I can’t control.

Despite the acne, Emma has her friends on her side, who see her for who she is and not for how her skin looks.

Acne