keratoconus
Keratoconus is an eye disease that causes progressive change of a normal cornea to bulge outward like a cone. Keratoconus begins in teens and early adulthood, either in one eye or both.
What are the signs and symptoms of keratoconus?
As the cornea gets more cone shaped, vision becomes distorted due to progressive shortsightedness ( myopia ) and irregular astigmatism. Patient will experience glare and feel sensitive to light, and often change their eyeglasses prescription when simple tasks like reading and seeing signboards are impaired.
What causes Keratoconus?
New research reviewed the cornea tissue is damaged due to oxidative stress in keratoconus cornea. Genetic predisposition is mainly the the cause of oxidative stress.
Keratoconus might be associated with overexposure UV (ultraviolet) from the sun, excessive eye rubbing and irritation, or a history of poorly fitted contact lenses.
How do I know whether I have keratoconus?
A corneal topographer is a special computerised instrument that obtains highly accurate, point-to-point measurements of suface of your cornea. Corneal topographer can be able to detect when the cornea gets more cone shaped, ie. keratoconus.
What are the Keratoconus Treatments?
Eye glasses and soft contact lenses are recommended for the early form of keratoconus. As the cornea gets more cone shaped, visual distortion due to progressive shortsightedness ( myopia ) and irregular astigmatism, other non surgical treatments will be suggested.
Other non surgical treatments for moderate keratoconus include:
- Customised soft contact lenses
- Rigid gas permeable contact lenses
- Hydbrid contact lenses
- Scleral and semi-scleral contact lenses
- Cornea Cross-linking
Surgical treatments are reserved for most severe keratoconus cases include:
- Intacs
- Intracorneal rings
- keratoplasty