Keratoconus is a progressive eye condition that affects the cornea, the front part of the eye. Our cornea is round-shaped clear tissues that cover the anterior part of the eye. With keratoconus, the cornea becomes irregularly shaped and turns into a cone-like structure. This deformity affects the vision of the patient and causes pain and discomfort. But can keratoconus be cured? Is there a known keratoconus treatment?
Things you need to know about keratoconus
With keratoconus, corrective lenses and glasses are useless
Patients with keratoconus experience nearsightedness (myopia) or astigmatism. But because the shape of the cornea is affected and distorted, corrective lenses cannot address this condition.
Symptoms of keratoconus
Patient in the late teens and early 20s can develop keratoconus. Aside from myopia with astigmatism or blurring of vision, the patient can experience glare and light sensitivity. Moreover, they may have different eye test results every time they go visit their eye doctor.
Can keratoconus be cured?
Unfortunately, this eye disease has no cure as of the moment. However, there are ways to manage the symptoms and control the progress of the disease. The least invasive is using custom-made contact lenses that fit perfectly to the cone-shaped cornea. These lenses may be a bit difficult to wear, so you can ask your Mornington Peninsula Eye Clinic ophthalmologist in Melbourne to place it for you. Contact lenses can be in the form of soft contact lenses, gas-permeable contact lenses, hybrid lenses, sclera, or prosthetic lenses.
Another treatment option that you can consider is a corneal transplant, but this route is risky and is not really a quick solution since you still need to wear other devices to correct your vision.
Keratoconus is a lifelong vision battle. Managing its symptoms is more feasible than finding ways to correct it. It is then important for the patient to continue regular appointment and monitoring with his ophthalmologist to observe the development of the disease.
