Keratoconus

• What is keratoconus?
• Keratoconus is an irregular protrusion of the cornea, the clear surface over the colored part of the eye. It is similar, structurally, to the crystal of a watch. If this crystal or windowpane is not smooth, the light will not bend evenly and an irregular image will be formed. Like looking through a bumpy piece of glass.


• What is the cause of keratoconus?
• The cause of Keratoconus is unknown. Certain allergic and arthritic disorders, Down's syndrome, genetic factors, chronic eye rubbing and contact lens wear have occasionally been associated.


• What are the symptoms of keratoconus?
• The typical patient with undiagnosed keratoconus complains of deteriorating vision, usually in one eye first, both at distance and near. Near visual acuity may improve if the patient squints or holds printed material closer. Keratoconus patients often report multiple images, or ghosting of images and often relate a history of frequent refractive correction changes without much improvement in visual acuity. Patients may also report irritating symptoms such as intolerance to glare, photophobia and a recurrent foreign body sensation(as if a foreign object were scratching the eye)


• Treatment?
• The treatment approach to keratoconus follows an orderly progression from glasses to contact lenses to corneal transplant. Glasses are an effective means of correction mild keratoconus. As the cornea steepens and becomes more irregular, glasses are no longer capable of providing adequate visual improvement. A gas permeable contact lens is the most highly effective way to manage keratoconus and 90% of all cases can be managed this way indefinitely. If the cornea becomes too scarred or painful, a corneal transplant may be necessary.


• Why this topic?
• I have it. Discovered it during my med check up for my study course. That was...6-7 years ago.I dread having to read or write forms. (Example, renewing driving licence form, you know that green paper with the small itsy bitsy font) Driving is no longer an easy task, intense light makes it even more difficult for me too see. Driving at night sometimes scares me, lights coming from the other cars can be confusing, I can't decide the distance of the car. Sigh...I'm not complaining am I?