What is Keratoconus?
When the collagen fibres that keep your corneas in place weaken, and/or the protective antioxidants that protect those fibres are reduced, the shape of the cornea can change dramatically, producing a cone-shaped bulge. This can affect your vision and in extreme cases can lead to blindness.
What Are The Symptoms Of Keratoconus
The symptoms can vary. In young people under 25 years of age, rapid deterioration of vision is a common symptom But the symptoms can be astigmatism, myopia (short sightedness), eye halos and ghosting, glare issues from the sun or lights, poor night vision, headaches, and eye strain and irritation.
Prevention
One cause of keratoconus is allergens that undermine production of the antioxidants that protect the collagen fibres, so try and avoid allergens. Also try not to rub your eyes too often or vigorously, which can weaken the collagen fibres.
Risk Factors
Keratoconus is usually diagnosed as an isolated disorder but it may also be associated with Down Syndrome, Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis, and Mitral Valve Prolapse.
Genetics, the environment and the endocrine system can all play a role in keratoconus. For example, oxidative stress, allergies and eye rubbing are known to be risk factors of developing keratoconus.
Without treatment, keratoconus can seriously impair your vision, and may even lead to blindness.
Possible Treatment
The non-invasive treatment is collagen cross-linking (CXL), where we apply riboflavin to the affected area and then stimulate it with ultraviolet light to activate it. This strengthens the collagen fibres so they can naturally regain the correct shape.
We may recommend corneal implants that serve to flatten the cornea and allow normal passage of light.
Diagnosis
We’ll start with a slit lamp microscope examination to magnify and examine the eye, followed by corneal topography that creates an accurate map of the surface curvature of your cornea. We may follow this with keratometry to get an even more detailed measurement of the curvature, and a corneal pachymetry, which tells us the thickness of the cornea.
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What Causes Keratoconus?
The cause may be related to a congenital condition such as Down syndrome or Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis, or an acquired condition such as mitral valve prolapse. It can also be as simple as being exposed to allergens that attack the collagen fibres that reinforce your cornea, and exacerbated by rubbing.
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How Can I Tell If I Have Keratoconus
Rapid changes to your vision, eye strain and headaches, eye halos and ghosting, glare issues and poor night vision may all be signs of keratoconus. You may even notice the bulge in your cornea yourself.
How Can LASERSIGHT Help
Your LASERSIGHT team has skills, the equipment and the experience to diagnose keratoconus and determine the most effective course of action, whether that is CXL or corneal implants.