Eye Pressure

[Matthew_]

I've seen eye pressure being mentioned a few times in various posts. Is high pressure in the eye assosciated with corneal thinning?
I have low pressure in my eye. Is this a good thing?

[GarethB]

The consultants I have spoken to and the ones that have attended support group meetings and the AGM's have all said eye pressure can be very misleading in a KC eye.

This is because all the measuring devices are designed for a normal eye of normal coneal thickness. There is not one designed for a thinning cornea.

High eye pressure will presumably make a cone bulge more than a normal eye pressure. A normal tyre filled to 30 psi will take on one shape, while a worn out nearly bald tyre filled to the same pressure will take on an slightly different shape, but are both really at the same pressure.

My understanding is that like a foot pump the test for eye pressure measures the back pressure. That is in a car tyre, you fill it with air and thevalve is the obveous way out, the guage measures the pressure the tyre walls are exerting on the air inside trying to push the air back out.

For the eye, a puff air is blown against the cornea or a device is lightly touched against the cornea and the back pressure determines the eye pressure. A thin cornea is going to have more give in it than a thicker one so the readings may be distorted.

For me the hospital takes the eye pressure and compares it to what I had before to see if it goes up or down so is a relative thing rather than an absolute value.

[syed]

Hi dear members,

I am new to this forum. what treatments are available for KC free through the NHS.I am new to England and so donno.I am having mild KC and I am 27 year old. Spectacles ahve failed , so have the RGP lenses, some one suggested me scleral lenses. But reading through this forum, I have come across things like intacs and c3r. Where can one get it doen in England, do u know any reliable doctor. Please guide. Thank you.

[Matthew_]

Syed,
It sounds like you need to be referred to a consultant in the first instance through your GP. If you have not already done so, register with your local medical centre and get an appointment with a GP. You should then be referred to your nearest eye specialist. In most cases, they will try to get a lens that will fit, only trying surgery if that does not work.
You say rgps do not work but who tried to fit them? The contact lens clinics in the eye hospitals are very good at finding the right lenses for you. They are also good at getting the fit right for people with KC. If rgps do not work there are other options.
C3R and Intacs are not generally available on the NHS (at least I don't think so). I think you would have to pay for those sorts of treatments.
Hope this helps

[Andrew MacLean]

Ophthalmologists become a bit obsessive about eye pressure after surgery. One problem is that high pressure (sometimes called glaucoma) can be caused by steroid use. This is why they carefully monitor eye pressure after surgery and, because of their care, the patient can be confident that any problems will be treated before they become eyesight threatening.