5 signs and symptoms that someone may have Keratoconus
World Keratoconus Day
Cornea is one of the essential parts of a person's eye. Mainly because it is responsible for focusing on 65-75% of the image we are looking at. Another function of the Cornea is protecting the inside of our Eyes from dirt, bacteria, and other substances that might be harmful to our eyes.
On an exceedingly rare occasion, the Cornea might not develop properly. It may become thinner than its usual thickness, unable to maintain its shape and to bulge outwards, which we call Keratoconus.
In celebration of World Keratoconus Day, Soliman Paroli Optical and Eyecare aim to raise awareness of this blinding eye disorder by showing some of the signs and symptoms that may indicate that you have Keratoconus.
Here are five signs and symptoms of Keratoconus that you should watch out for:
1. Progressively increasing nearsightedness, and Astigmatism
Progressively increasing nearsightedness and astigmatism may signify that a person may have Keratoconus, especially the astigmatism part.
This is more obvious when the Astigmatism is significantly higher than the person's Myopia, especially when the auto-refractometer/keratometer shows high amount corneal astigmatism.
If someone from your family has keratoconus, and you have this kind of prescription, and still unsure, better have your vision, as well as your Corneal Astigmatism, assessed by an eyecare practitioner. An eyecare practitioner may do Corneal Topography to you to better assess if your Cornea is or is not a candidate of Keratoconus.
2. Wearing Eyeglass Prescription may not be enough to fully correct vision
Although not all, people with moderate to severe Keratoconus cases may no longer have their vision fully corrected with eyeglass prescription. They may complain of blurring vision, shadowing, glare, etc. and even doubling vision even if one Eye is closed.
An eye care professional may prescribe specialty contact lenses designed for people with Keratoconus. These lenses do not cure your Keratoconus, but rather, they correct most of the changes the Keratoconus is causing to your Eye.
Aside from Special Contact Lenses, an Ophthalmologist may perform Corneal Crosslinking, an advanced treatment in addressing Keratoconus, to slow down or stop the progression.
Remember: Corneal Crosslinking does not reverse the damages done by Keratoconus or cure your Cornea. Instead, it stops or slows down any further damage the disease is doing to your Eye. Therefore, early intervention is essential.
3. Keratoconus may be inherited
Knowing a Keratoconus family history is already a good reason to have your Eye and Cornea checked. Some eye experts have discussed that Keratoconus may be inherited.
For a parent, if they have Keratoconus, they should have their children screened, especially if they show signs of nearsightedness and astigmatism.
Reference: (Bykhovskaya, Y., Margines, B. & Rabinowitz, Y.S. Genetics in Keratoconus: where are we?. Eye and Vis 3, 16 (2016)
4. Keratoconus may be present in some systemic conditions
Keratoconus has been linked with some systemic conditions such as Downe Syndrome, Ehler’s-Danlos syndrome, Osteogenesis imperfecta and Retinitis Pigmentosa, and many more. It is highly recommended that the Cornea is assessed if a person has a systemic condition are most likely to present Keratoconus. Ruling out Keratoconus at an early stage can be beneficial to a person with the Corneal disorder.
Reference: Rong, S.S., Ma, S.T.U., Yu, X.T. et al. Genetic associations for keratoconus: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sci Rep 7, 4620 (2017)
5. In severe cases, a Cornea with Keratoconus may be observed as Cone-Shaped using the naked eye.
In the early to moderate stages of Keratoconus, it is difficult to see any changes in the Cornea with the Naked Eye.
However, as the Cornea is bulging forward in the more advanced stages, a person may observe the Cornea as being more Cone-Like shaped than the usual spherical shape. Also, Corneal Hydrops may be seen in Keratoconus's advanced stages, where the Eye appears to have a translucent milky-like appearance. If left unassessed, this may be a few steps towards blindness in the Eye.
In this late stage, it is highly recommended that you visit your eye care practitioner more often so they can monitor your Cornea using a Corneal Topographer and to give you the proper management.