Keratoconus

Keratoconus is a affliction of the anterior surface of the eye (the cornea). This cone shape deviates light as it enters the eye on its way to the light-sensitive retina, causing distorted vision. As the disease progresses, the cone becomes more conspicuous, causing vision to become blurred and distorted. It is suggested that enzymes released by this degenerating cell layer cause a debacle of other layers of the cornea. For many, an invasive corneal transplant was the only option - until now Intacs prescription inserts are an exciting new alternatives between contacts and a corneal transplant that may be the best possible option to stabilize the cornea and improve vision.

The distortion caused by keratoconus has been compared to screening a street sign through your car windscreen during a driving rainstorm. The consecution of keratoconus is unpredictable. While keratoconus interferes with the pellucidity of a person's sight it rarely causes blindness. In its early stages, keratoconus causes slight obfuscate and distortion of vision and increased sensitivity to glare and light.

Keratoconus is a progressive eye disease, that causes a thinning of the cornea, the clear front surface of the eye. Keratoconus is a deterioration of the structure of the cornea with gradational bulging from the normal round shape to a cone shape. All layers of the cornea are supposed to be affected by KC, though the most notable features are the thinning of the corneal stroma, the ruptures in the Bowman layer, and the accumulation of iron in the basal epithelial cells, forming the Fleischer ring. Breaks in and folds close to the Descemet membrane result in acute hydrops and striae, respectively.

In a salubrious eye, the cornea curves like a dome. In an eye with keratoconus, the center of the cornea slowly thins and knobs, so that it sags and has a cone shape (see illustration). This meddles with a person's vision and can severely affect the way they see the world making simple tasks like reading, watching TV or driving very difficult.The distortion caused by keratoconus has been compared to viewing a street sign through your car windscreen during a driving rainstorm. Due to the cornea's irregular shape, patients having keratoconus are usually very nearsighted and have a high degree of astigmatism that is not castigatable with glasses. Intacs prescription inserts are testifies for use in the correction of nearsightedness and astigmatism for patients with Keratoconus, where contact lenses and glasses are no longer suitable.

Causes of Keratoconus

The common causes of Keratoconus :

• Magnesium - deficiencies are related to Keratoconus. Alcoholism, pregnancy, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, diuretics and stress can lead to a magnesium deficiency. Low magnesium can cause a thinning of elastic membranes such as the cornea.
• Tho' not definitively identified, genetic inheritance; systemic and ocular associations; eye rubbing; atopy, specifically ocular allergies; and CL wear are proposed risk factors.
• Allergies - approximately 40-50 percent of Keratoconus patients have allergies.
• An eye injury such as excessive eye rubbing or wearing hard contact lenses for several years.
• Specific eye diseases, such as retinitis pigmentosa, retinopathy of prematurity, and vernal keratoconjunctivitis;
• Several reports suggest, perhaps coincidentally, associations with KC and other corneal dystrophies.
• Keratoconus is more common in contact lens wearers and people with nearsighted eyes.
• Genetic disposition.
• systemic diseases, such as Leber's congenital amaurosis, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Down syndrome and osteogenesis imperfecta;

Symptoms of Keratoconus

Some common symptoms of Keratoconus :

• Nearsightedness
• Astigmatism
• Glare at night
• Standard contact lenses do not fit well.
• Eye rubbing
• Light sensitivity
• You become aware of visual distortion with and without eyeglasses.
• Distorted or blurred vision
• Eye strain, squinting, headaches and general eye pain.
• Blurred vision that cannot be corrected with glasses.
• Increased light sensitivity

Treatment of Keratoconus

• Use of gas permeable contact lenses (one requires to see a specialist that fits contacts for Keratoconus.
• CL wear usually is complicated by episodes of intolerance, allergic reactions (eg, giant papillary conjunctivitis), corneal abrasions, neovascularization, and other problems, sometimes leading to total intolerance.
• Contact lenses are the primary treatment and are passable treatment for most patients with keratoconus.
• If severe, corneal transplant
• When vision deteriorates to the point which contact lenses no longer offer satisfactory vision, corneal transplant may be necessary to replace the diseased cornea with a healthy one.
• Contact lenses are often still required postgraft for optimum vision.
• This energy shrinks the edges of the cornea, which pulls the central area back to a more normal shape.
• PKPs are very successful in the treatment of KC, resulting in clear visual axes in greater than 90% of all cases.