Advice requested

[Andrew Davis]

My girlfriend was diagnosed about 10 years ago with KC (she is now 27) and
had to change from glasses to contact lenses about 6 years ago. We moved to
the UK from Australia 2 years ago and she has recently been to see an
optician regarding new lenses as her sight has deteriorated. She has been
back to the optician to replace her first lenses as they did not fit
adequately and the second pair are very painful. She is reluctant to go
back as she feels that she is wasting their time. Should she be going to
see an opthamologist or other qualified person for her condition or should
we persist with her optician?

I would be grateful for your replies

Andrew

[Anna Mason]

I dont know what is available in your area but I would get her to see a consultant who specialises in KC he can then advise where to go from there.

[John Smith]

Hi Andrew,

I tend to agree with Anna, but it is of course worth realising that most opticians in the UK are also opthalmologists ("Opthalmic opticians" is a bit of a giveaway )

In my case, I went from a High Street opticians to a consultant at the local hospital. The consultant told me to find a better optician, and then recommended one.

The trouble with opticians and KC is simply that most opticians don't see very many patients with KC. When you find a good one though, they can often spend more time with you than a busy consultant could, and eventually get a decent pair of contact lenses.

With me, I wore Rose K RGP lenses for some time until the lenses were continually dislodging. If your optician can't fir your girlfriend with anything that won't dislodge easily, then I think it's certainly time to move on.

Best of luck,

[Christine Wright]

Actually, John, that isn't quite right. An Ophthalmologist is a medical doctor who has specialised in eyes (note the extra 'h'!). An Optometrist (formerly Ophthalmic Optican) is not a medical doctor, but is trained to examine the eyes and prescribe spectacles or contact lenses.

Not many Optometrists in the high street see enough cases of Keratoconus to become specialists in this type of contact lens fitting. However, for Optometrists working in hospitals (like myself) they see more patients with keratoconus then anything else! Hardly any ophthalmologists get involved in the contact lens fitting - once KC is diagnosed, they will hand the patient over to the Optometrist.

Not all countries are the same - lots of European countries don't have Optometrists, so Eye doctors prescribe specs and contact lenses.Optometry in Australia is fairly similar to the UK, but I think I've heard that hospital optometry isn't as well developed as here. I would guess that hospitals contract out the work to contact lens fitters in the community - are there any Australians who can help us out on this one?