KERATOCONUS

TYPES

There are many types of Keratoconus, some these are:

• Forme Fruste Keratoconus

This is sub-clinical form keratoconus, and this is where the disease started in the eye and stopped progressing

• Corneal Hydrops

Corneal Hydrops keratoconus rarely occurs in advanced stages where it is the rupturing of one of the cornea’s internal membranes that leads to fluid leaking into the cornea and is painful, making the cornea into milky white.

• Pellucid Marginal Degeneration

Another keratoconus disease usually occurs to people of middle ages and is a rare type of keratoconus that involves thinning along with a narrow mid-peripheral band rather than centrally.

SYMPTOMS

The signs and symptoms of keratoconus may change depending on the progress of the disease; some of these are:

• Blurred vision
• Distorted vision
• Hypersensitivity to bright light and glare
• Frequent eyeglass and contact lenses prescriptions

Clouding of vision

DIAGNOSIS

Your ophthalmologist or optometrist will review your family and medical history to diagnose keratoconus and conduct an eye exam. He or she may make you undergo other corneal tests to determine more details.

Some tests include:

• Slit-lamp examination

In this test, your optometrist will use a low-powered microscope with the help of a direct vertical beam of light that hits the surface of your eye to view your cornea. Your optometrist will look for other potential problems and evaluate the shape of your cornea.

• Eye refraction

In this test, your ophthalmologist or optometrist will use specialised tools and equipment that check for measures of your vision if you have eye problems.

• Keratometry

In this test, your ophthalmologist will focus a circle of light on your cornea, and he or she will measure the reflection of the light to determine the shape of your cornea.

TREATMENT

It’s treatment may widely vary depending on the severity and specific type of your Keratoconus

People with mild to moderate keratoconus can be treated with eyeglasses or contact lenses.

These are some of the types of lenses that can help people with having it.

• Eyeglasses or soft contact lenses.  This will correct distorted or blurry vision in people with early keratoconus.
• Hard contact lenses. In treating progressing keratoconus, rigid, gas permeable contact lenses are often used. At first, it is uncomfortable to wear hard lenses, but most of the people with progressed Keratoconus wear them as they provide excellent vision.
• Piggyback lenses. If you are having a hard time wearing hard lenses, your ophthalmologist will put a layer of the soft lens under the rigid lens to provide you comfort.
• Hybrid lenses. Suppose you are still having a hard time even with piggyback lenses. Your eye doctor will recommend you wearing hybrid lenses which have a rigid center lens with a softer ring of lens outside to provide maximum comfort.