There are a wide variety of conditions that can affect people’s eyes. Usually the first issues considered are nearsightedness or farsightedness. The eye is far more complex though. The eye has many parts which are crucial to functioning. One of the most useful is the cornea. The cornea is the first lens that light is filtered through. The cornea is dome shaped out from the other main parts of the eye responsible for vision. Keratoconus is a condition that alters the cornea. Instead of it being that dome shape, it looks more like a cone. This can consistently change vision levels. Keratoconus doesn’t start all at once. It can develop over a number of years. Understanding the process of keratoconus can help people identify when it may be affecting them and help get the right treatment.
What Happens To The Eyes
As mentioned, keratoconus is when a cornea becomes thin and loses the natural shape that is so important for it. As the cornea becomes thin, pressure from the interior of the eye pushes out the cornea and it turns into more of a cone shape.
People who suffer from keratoconus typically discover it fairly early in life. Most cases first occur for people between the ages of 10 and 25. They will find their eyes undergoing a number of potential different signs. Some people will find their vision becomes blurry. Others may find that their vision becomes unexpectedly distorted. Cloudy vision can occur and those with cloudy vision may find it gets much worse than it was before. Sensitivity to light often becomes an issue. Some people may find that their ability to drive becomes impaired. This is especially true at night. It’s the bright lights of tail lights and other roadside lights that can become blinding.
Defending Against Vision Damage
When it comes to prevention of keratoconus, there’s not a lot that can be done. There’s no known cause of keratoconus, but several risk factors indicate the potential for keratoconus. Family history is the main risk but obviously there’s nothing that can be done to prevent that. Many other medical conditions may increase the risk of keratoconus. Finally, people who rub their eyes vigorously are at risk. That’s one habit that can be broken to help reduce the risk of keratoconus.
Keratoconus will progress over a longer period of time. It can take at least a decade to fully reach the most severe forms of keratoconus. Mostly treatment will revolve around prescription lenses. The problem is that prescriptions keep changing quickly for people with keratoconus. Mild cases often start with normal eyeglasses or soft contact lenses. Hard contact lenses can usually be the next option. Their firm structure can provide additional support to the cornea. The problem is that hard contact lenses are often uncomfortable and many people find they are unable to wear them. Piggyback lenses offer an interesting compromise. They have a soft and hard contact lens on top of each other to try to get the best of both worlds. Hybrid lenses are another option. These have a hard interior near the location of the cornea and a soft exterior of the lens. The final option is scleral lenses. These lenses are designed to rest on the sclera of the eye, instead of the cornea.
There’s one therapy treatment that can be attempted. This is most often used early to try to stabilize the cornea and avoid the progressive vision loss that’s so common. This therapy uses ultraviolet light.
If the condition continues to deteriorate, then surgery can be required. The lesser of the surgical options is a corneal insert. A plastic insert is placed, which supports the natural shape of the cornea and fix vision problems. The other surgical option is a full corneal transplant. This is most common if the cornea has suffered from extreme thinning.