KC stabilizing in your 30's??

[Susan Mason]

Hello all

Just thought I would post a few lines after reading Lynn's post.

Childbirth for me was not as I recall a stressful event. Two paracetemol tablets at around 12 noon on the Tuesday and by 10>57 on Wednesday (the next day) I had a little boy. I was in hospital from about 11pm on the Tues and no one believed I was in labour as I had no pain at all. At about 5.40 am on the Weds morn all hell broke loose as when I finally got someone to check me over again as I felt really odd and was unable to sit still I was found to be fully dilated and ready to go. Well it took a few hours and I only remember one sharp pain and I am now told it was because he came out with his hand and arm over his face 'no photos please' which sadly caused a bit of a tear and some nasy little stitches administered by a doc with very large hands. Apart from that it was stress free.

Who knows what brought my KC on I only know I got it and it seems to be here to stay with very little control I have over it and ruling my life if I let it ...... quite annoying really HOWEVER not the end of the world .... it could be so much worse than only seeimg the top letter on the eye chart!


Susan

[Lynn White]

Ahhh...

What I should have said was what the body perceives as "stress". Pregnancy and childbirth cause a lot of hormonal and physical changes in the body which can trigger many medical conditions.

Many childhood illnesses can trigger conditions too - for instance it is interesting how many people mention that their squint or lazy eye seemed to come on after measles.

This kind of trigger mechanism is hard to prove because by the time you find out what it has triggered its too late to go back and see what was happening at the time!

We have had this sort of discussion on the boards before and I still find it fascinating!!

Lynn

[Lesley Foster]

Following on from what Lynn says about triggers and KC, I had measles badly when I was about two years old and my youngest brother also had measles when he was the same age we both have KC and have both been diagnosed the about the same length of time, 24 years. He is five years younger than me.

There is a possibilty I have had it a lot longer than that because I remember my optician telling my mum I would be a good candidate for contact lenses when I was about 13 or 14 years old. As it was I wasn't diagnosed at first because I was already wearing lenses, which I had deciced to try because my glasses were getting so thick, my then optician was most apologetic for not realising I had KC but was brilliant once it was found out and treated me for a further four years until he was unable to cope with my prescriptions.

I have had my fair share of ups and downs but now I have sclerals things are better and when I reas what some of you have gone through I count my blessings because I feel quite lucky in comparison.

Best wishes to all.

Lesley.x

[Carol Vines]

lynne, i find the "maybe" connection between having had measles and then developing KC interesting, even though it cannot be proved.

i had measles when i was about 4 years old and according to mum i had it really bad; having never passed an eye test without contact lenses maybe there is a connection; i do respect we will never really know. the interesting part is my two sisters and brother do not have KC and they have never had measles.

[Lesley Foster]

I forgot to mention in my message yesterday that my other brother doesn't have KC and as far as I am aware has never had measles either.

Methinks there maybe a connection somewhere along the line, one day they may prove it.

Lesley.

[Jacqueline Cheetham]

I also had measles and then German measles on top of that, as a child and according to my parents 'very badly'. I can remember our old Doctor just visiting without a request, to 'look' at my eyes. I must have been around 5 or 6 years old. My best friend will tell anyone who asks... That I have never been able to 'see' properly.

[Lynn White]

Thanks for your replies there...

I would actually be interested if anyone else had measles before onset of KC progression... or in fact info about any trigger anyone can identify.

I am doing some research into this so would be grateful for any info!

Lynn

[rosemary johnson]

Lynn asked about measles/MC for a research project:

Fascinating as such a link may be for the public health promoters in the UK/world.....
.... aren't you just proving an age gradient?

That is, in the UK, most people over 45 will have had measles, and most people under 40 will have been vaccinated against it.
And isn't there a risk that for those who weren't vaccinated, any effects is more to do with the reasons they weren't vaccinated than the disease itself?

It could be interesting to compare any data on KC incidence/rates with the stats/graphs/maps produced by the CDSC in COlindale of the vaccine uptake cf. incidene of measles - though given the typical later diagnosis of KC, and modern day population mobility, I wonder if it would really give much in the way of significant results.

I've certainly never heard of a marked drop in KC when the measles vaccine became widely available in (IIRR) 1967 - or after that, I shoudld say - as might be expected. But maybe this reflects better diagnosis? - or maybe just *wider8 diagnosis, among the NHS generation and with eyesight screening in schools.

Rosemary

[Lynn White]

Well....

I wasn't originally looking at KC in particular - I was looking at squints. It was interesting that squint surgery is down 40% since about 1992 and although, yes, vaccination has been available for years, it has only been in the 12 years or so when the measles vaccine was pushed hard that measles incidence finally really dropped.

This, of course, means nothing on its own - it could be a co-incidental finding. Squint surgery may be down for other reasons - although the researchers had looked ay many possibilities and could not come up with an answer.

I have to admit the reason I am looking at this is from a purely anecdotal point of view. For as long as I have been in practice, many patients have said to me they started to squint after measles. The received wisdom was that the predilection for squint was there already and just being debilitated from the illness triggered it off.

What intersted me here was that a few people started talking about measles and KC and I just wondered whether more people had this trigger.

Now, of course you are right about Public Health data collectors - but you may be a little distubred to know that there are not any actual stats on KC incidence. Not hard facts - merely guestimates. And even if you gathered them - at what point do you qualify to be KC? Many of here attest to the fact you were diagnosed late or misdiagnosed...

Part of my project is trying to set up a KC screening in Trinidad because the incidence IS high there... and don't ask what the figures are because there aren't any - thats why I am trying to do the study! (I know they are high, because I have worked there) Once we have the incidence levels pegged there, then maybe KC researchers elsewhere can be persuaded to do some research on a concentrated population.

So part of me asking about triggers is to try and see if there are any big questions we should be addressing while doing the screening, besides ethnicity and environment etc.

If anyone out there can contradict me and point to detailed research on KC rates I would be extremely grateful for the information!

Lynn

[Tammy Downsworth]

Ahh

Measles, I had measles just before during and after my 7th Birthday. I don't remember much but as I was getting better I had a scab/'scar' in the centre of my right eye.

Now I have KC (diagnosed when I was 37 and am now a few years older than that!), I have added blurring where the scar was, the optom at the clinic can't see the scar, which makes me think that as well as the KC changes to the cornea where I had the measles scar is actually even more thinner than the rest. I have relayed this recently but the optoms/opthals don't seem to be remotely interested.

As well as measles history, I suppose very detailed lifestyle questionaires would maybe throw some more light on a cause.

Now as I seem to be progressing quite aggressively I'm more worried about what makes the KC worse, rather than what caused it in the first place, but even that isn't known.

Maybe one day!, does anybody know what happened to the stem cell theory for a cure?, the crosslinking is supposed to halt progress, but the stem cell (with our own cells grown for a while then transplanted), appeared to give a cure. I'm game! I'll try anything, and those that are left can go in the wrinkles

Apart from my more frivolous thoughts like above, I suppose all we can do is support each other through the various processes.

Bye for now.

Tam