A
nine-year-old boy in the United Kingdom named Zac Morey nearly lost his
eyesight after contracting “COVID-eye”, a side effect of the coronavirus. “His
eye looked like it was going to explode,” the boy’s mother, Angela, said.

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The boy had
reportedly contracted the virus in Bristol where five children tested positive
for COVID-19 on December 16. Angela’s son Zac developed flu-like symptoms and
spent his quarantine at home playing computer games, reported Daily Mail. 

Zac tested
negative for COVID-19

Despite
producing negative test results, the boy developed pain in his left eye.
Initially, it was considered a pain because of excessive screen time, the
mom then realised something was wrong after the eye swelled to alarming
proportions over the next few days.

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“It was
swollen beyond anything I’ve ever seen,” said Zac’s parent. “There was no way
he could open it without pulling the skin.”

Zac was diagnosed
with orbital cellulitis

Angela took
her child to the hospital on Christmas Eve, where doctors diagnosed him with
orbital cellulitis, an infection in the eye area that some scientists have
linked to COVID. However, it is “indeterminate that COVID-19 is coincidental or
a predisposing factor to this presentation,” according to an April 2021 case
study.

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“The
doctors said it was an allergic reaction to the virus that affects children,”
said Angela. She was particularly worried since doctors said the disease could
cause blindness if it ventured too deep into the eye. Hoping to prevent the
worst, physicians administered the patient antibiotics via an IV drip over the
next few days.

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Fortunately
for the boy, the remedy appeared to have worked as a subsequent eye test
confirmed that Zac’s vision had been fully restored, and he was discharged from
the hospital on Dec. 26.

It must be
noted that this is not the first time an eye disease has been linked to the
coronavirus. In an alarming study from February, French scientists documented
so-called nodules in the eyes of patients battling severe COVID-19.

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Scientists
hypothesized that these orbital protuberances were caused by virus-related
inflammation and doctors positioning patients face down to improve oxygenation.