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A rare and terrible condition known as “Christmas Eye,” caused by the toxic secretions of a tiny native beetle, has resurfaced to plague inhabitants in a remote area of South Australia.
The poorly researched eye illness appears to be a minor indication of holiday season excess, but physicians say the terrible agony was frequently compared to childbirth.
The Christmas Eye is a unique beetle that is only seen in Australia’s Albury-Wodonga region, around 300 kilometers (186 miles) northeast of Melbourne.
It is sometimes referred to as “Albury-Wodonga syndrome” and “Harvester’s Keratitis” due to its association with farming activities.
Christmas Eye, according to Rob Holloway, an optometrist in the area, occurred in the Australian summer, “thus the name,” and was often simple to diagnose.
“The pain level is generally what diagnoses it straight away,” he told AFP.
“It’s etched in their memory. The common response is ‘You poor bastard’.”
Wodonga optometrist Kelly Gibbons said she had heard people “compare it to childbirth”.
“These people are in abject misery,” she told national broadcaster ABC.
Christmas Eye, according to Holloway, is produced by a native species of orthoperus beetles that measure less than 1 millimeter in length.
When the beetle is crushed, such as when someone rubs their eyes, the insects spew a deadly chemical
When crushed, such as when someone rubs their eyes, the insects spew a deadly chemical.
“The insect has a component called pederin, which is a blistering agent,” Holloway said.
“This gets secreted onto the eye surface, and it makes the surface of the eye blister and falls off.”
According to Holloway, there has been a recent increase in instances around Albury-Wodonga, which may be linked to significant rains in winter and spring.
“This year has been weird. We had none at all until the week before Christmas, but since then we were inundated for probably a fortnight,” he said.
“Since Christmas, we’ve seen 25 to 30 cases. In a normal year, you might get 10. There’s been a lot, lot more than there usually would be.”
Fortunately, Holloway added, Christmas Eye was simple to cure with over-the-counter medications such as antibiotics.
“The important thing is it recovers very well. A fortnight later there’s no evidence for it.”