A round-up of the eye related hot topics that have been trending on social media over the last few weeks.
#Volleyball #EyeInjury
Multiple outlets have picked up the story of Lee Cuthbert, who was on holiday in Mexico and playing volleyball in the hotel pool [1]. Sounds like a fun holiday activity, but during one point another player went for the ball and accidentally caught his nail across Lee’s right eye. He had a primary repair of the globe in Mexico but was told at that point that he would not be able to see out of the eye again. He had further surgery once back to the UK and had to have the eye removed. It has been a long and emotional journey, but Lee is delighted with the cosmetic outcome with his prosthetic and it hasn’t held him back from living life to the fullest and has since returned to playing water games!
#Eyeball #Leech #BloodSucker
With an amazing accompanying video that I would urge any reader to check out, David White was hiking through Australian rainforest in the Daintree when a fern brushed across his face and a leech latched on to his eye [2]. Neither him nor his partner were able to get it out and they did not want to risk damaging the eye with tweezers, so they left it in place to fall off in its own time. Usually, leeches would release after half an hour, but this one stayed on and kept feeding for two hours! He has a video of the sucker and it’s remarkably sizeable, so it’s not surprising David has said that it was quite painful towards the end, when it was at its largest.
#ScienceFair #Strabismus
I feel a sense of accomplishment when I remember to put my bins out, but Aaryan Balani has absolutely got me beat with his recent achievement, having won the top prize at a major science fair in the USA at the age of 14 years old [3]. Aaryan has a strabismus that developed in his childhood but can purposefully bring his eyes into alignment when he notices them drifting. His prize-winning AI-powered device is worn like a visor and beeps when it notices an eye begin to wander, prompting the wearer to focus on bringing it back in. He worked through different prototypes to get his finished product, using a 3D printer and small cameras, and wants to take it to clinical trials to see if it can be approved as a medical device by the USA’s Food & Drug Administration (FDA) as a potential management option for people like him. It’s an amazing thing to develop at his age and shows real innovate thinking. I will be eagerly listening out for any developments in the future!
#EyeMassage
When I think of ocular massages I think of post intravitreal injection pressure spikes or retinal artery occlusions, but the North Americans are putting new meaning to the term. I enjoyed the reports coming out of Los Angeles about New Vogue Spa, who are offering a treatment they call ‘eyeball care’ [4]. Using large goggles to steam around the eyes with essential oils followed by a massage of the tissues around the eyes, including the use of an ultrasonic vibration device, it is meant to be a gentle session to help with eye strain and visual fatigue, relaxing the muscles of the eye and promoting blood circulation. Thankfully it does not sound like they are putting any actual pressure on the eye and they are not putting anything in the eye, so it very well may be a calming, relaxing experience that makes the eyes feel better.
#GavinAndStacey #Trauma
I did my undergraduate studies in Cardiff and used to enjoy watching Gavin and Stacey with my flatmates at the time, so an ophthalmic-linked headline with the star of the sitcom, Joanna Page, was always going to catch my eye. She has been talking on a podcast about the time when her youngest kid accidentally kicked her in the eye while sleeping, as they shared a bed at the time [5]. The injury was extremely painful, making her immediately worried she had burst open her eyeball. She struggled to move the eye the next day, and while she is nervous about residual nerve damage around the eye or going blind from the injury in the future, it seems that there are no current signs of sight-threatening damage, thank goodness.
#PlasmaExchange
A story picked up by many news sites is of Jessica Kent-Hazledine, who went through an enormously stressful time when she woke up blind two weeks after giving birth [6]. What is already a time of heightened emotions was only made worse by the loss of vision in both eyes. She initially thought it was part of the new-parent package alongside the exhaustion, but once she went to get it checked out, she was intensively investigated with the diagnosis was proving elusive. Eventually, it was deduced that this was driven by an autoimmune reaction against the optic nerve and she was managed with five sessions of plasma exchange, the first time it had been done at her treating centre, the Royal Cornwall Hospital. Her vision has improved significantly with the treatment, which she is tremendously thankful for.
#Luxturna #SightSaving
In an amazing story from Great Ormond Street Hospital, Saffie Sandford has been the first to receive gene therapy in the form of Luxturna to manage her Leber’s congenital amaurosis [7]. Her parents have been talking about how much of a difference it has made to her sight and broader life, being able to take part in normal activities and how she has improved at school. It is important to take a step back and think about the incredible advancements in ophthalmology that have come through in recent years. Hopefully this is something that can continue to make a difference in suitable patients’ lives.
References
1. www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/
dad-loses-eyeball-after-stranger-36951194
2. https://au.news.yahoo.com/moment
-man-gets-leech-stuck-024502269.html
3. https://people.com/teen-14-invents
-ai-powered-device-to-potentially-treat
-crossed-eyes-11954536
4. www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/
2026-04-06/new-vogue-spa-eyeball
-care-review-digital-eye-strain
5. www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/
joanna-page-describes-pain-after-36990608
6. www.thetimes.com/uk/
healthcare/article/mum-eyesigh
t-birth-plasma-exchange-h6bmcbhqw
7. https://news.sky.com/story/parents-hail
-incredible-results-after-six-year-old-girl-has
-sight-restored-by-gene-therapy-13535055
[All links last accessed May 2026]
