Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from 2017

November 10 is WORLD KERATOCONUS DAY (WORLDKC DAY)

November 10 is WORLDKC Day!  I tell my keratoconus patients about it and they were all surprised that there is such a day.  It is not actually a celebration that they have keratoconus, but it is  a good time to raise awareness about this disease.   Keratoconus is a condition where the cornea becomes thinner progressively over time.  Although the real cause is unknown, it is often associated with atopic diseases, history of eye rubbing and may sometimes have a genetic role.  Symptoms of keratoconus includes blurring of vision, light sensitivity, ghosting of vision and frequent need to change the prescription.  When the central cornea is affected, patient will not be able to achieve 20/20 vision.   The younger the patient is diagnosed, the more severe the keratoconus usually is.  There is a higher percentage of incidence in Asians with both genders being affected equally.  The incidence was estimated to be 1 in 2000, but recent data shows that this ratio seemed to be underesti

Is Your Nearsightedness Really Just Increasing? Or It Is Keratoconus?

One of the most common signs of keratoconus is frequent change of eyeglasses.   It is common to find the need to change your glasses due to constant increase of prescription.   You may find that in a year, you need to have your lenses changed at least twice, and in most cases, you are always not satisfied with the vision your new glasses give you.   Your nearsightedness keeps on increasing and you do not know what to do.   In early stages, keratoconus can mask itself as just a simple error of refraction specifically nearsightedness and astigmatism.  A characteristic of a keratoconus cone is having a steep cornea, and this will cause the light to converge in front of the retina, causing nearsightedness.  And because the changes on the cornea can be uneven, irregular astigmatism is being created.   In mild cases, patients can still achieve a 20/20 vision while wearing their glasses and eventually as the disease progresses, vision is not correctable to 20/20 anymore.  One may n

When Will Keratoconus Stop Progressing?

I have keratoconus patients as young as 8 and as old as 50.  And one of the questions that they usually ask is when will their keratoconus stop progressing?  It has been found that kids usually progress faster and leads to more advanced cases, while for those that were diagnosed in their 20's would not progress as fast compared to the kids.  The protocol would still be to have collagen cross linking if the cornea is still thick enough for the procedure.  With collagen cross linking, riboflavin drops in combination with UV rays strengthen the collagen fibrils of the cornea, enabling the resistance of the cornea to get thinner and protrude.  A study also showed that the as one ages, there is a natural process of cross linking, and thus it was concluded that around the 4th decade of life, keratoconus would be stable already.    That is good news I guess, getting older has its perks, but if you have keratoconus and has reached the age of 40,  you are entering the stage of presbyopia.  

THIS SCLERAL LENS LOOKS FAMILIAR?

Scleral Lens With Deposits Does this look familiar?  Scleral lenses, similar to other types of lenses are also prone to deposits.  This is specially true as the lens does not move much and causes tears to be stagnant behind the lens for a few hours.  How to clean this lens?  Digitally rubbing the lens with a strong gas permeable solution and cleaner will help.  Using AOSept Plus or Clear Care Solution can also aid in everyday cleaning (Note:  6 hours minimum soaking time).  Using Progent every 2 weeks will also help clear out stubborn deposits (Special instructions apply).  We also encourage patients to use q-tips soaked with saline or gas permeable solution to clean both surfaces every Sunday.  This is to be done lightly as not to remove any plasma coating on the lens.   Doing these extra cleaning steps will do wonders for your comfortable scleral lens wear.  Scleral lenses do a fantastic job in providing comfort and clarity of vision for patients with keratoconus, pelluc