Keratoconus occurs in approximately one in 2,000 individuals and affects people of all races equally.
What is keratoconus?
It is a progressive disease of the cornea, which is the front part of your eye. Keratoconus causes the cornea to become thinner over time, causing the cornea to bulge out into a cone shape, resulting in an irregular corneal surface.
Normally, the surface of your cornea is smooth and round. However, keratoconus causes an irregular shape of the front structure of your eye, leading to irregular astigmatism and scarring of the cornea, which can cause many symptoms.
What are the symptoms of keratoconus?
Keratoconus can cause the following symptoms, depending on its severity:
- Blurring in your vision
- Distortions in your vision
- Shadowing around letters or objects
- Increased sensitivity to light and glare
- Redness
- Swelling
- In more advanced stages of keratoconus, certain areas of your cornea can become so thin that they can rupture and cause eye pain.
How does keratoconus occur?
The exact mechanism of action and causes of keratoconus are complex, but it is suspected that genetics is involved. Moreover, it is believed to be caused by the enzymatic breakdown of collagen structures in your cornea, which causes your cornea to become thinner over time.
How is keratoconus diagnosed?
Different methods are available for diagnosing keratoconus. We begin by performing a thorough slit lamp examination. Following this, we examine the front surface of your eye, the curvature of your front structure, and the thickness of your cornea.
In order to determine whether you have keratoconus or not, we use various corneal topography tests and imaging devices at our facility.
How is keratoconus treated?
A variety of treatment options are available for keratoconus, depending on the severity of the condition.
- Corneal cross-linking - In order to slow down the progression of keratoconus, you may want to consider corneal collagen crosslinking or intracorneal ring segments as treatments. These procedures, however, do not actually improve your vision when you have keratoconus. Instead, they slow down the progression of keratoconus depending on the severity of your keratoconus. If you have more of the advanced stages of keratoconus, you may not benefit from corneal cross-linking.
- Speciality hard contact lenses - When it comes to actual vision correction, there are various different treatment options available. A special type of hard contact lens provides the best quality of vision, whether it's rigid gas permeable lens, hybrid lens, piggyback lens, or scleral lens. By placing this hard contact lens over your keratoconic eye, you can mask your irregular corneal surface caused by keratoconus by creating a new front surface of your eye. You are able to see better because these lenses mask the distortions in your eye and result in a new front surface for your eyes, resulting in improved vision.
