What job do you do and how does keratoconus affect it?

[GarethB]

I've been following this for a while to see if everyone that responds has a problem with computers and I think it highlights something I have put on this forum before and I have observed this on other health forums.

The data is very skewed to one side and I am sure this is due to the simple reason if you aren't having any problems with your particular condition, then why would you visit a support group web site?

If you are new to KC and on the steep learning curve the posts here can be very unnerving.

Therefore to add a little balance and having experienced much of what has been reported so far but only when I was wearing RGP lenses. I'd regularly get bad eye days requiring a day or more off work and eventually got to the point of only being able to wear RGP lenses for an hour per day and being in eye casualty at least once per month in addition to monthly eye checks at the hospital. This was because the problem came on within 4 years of wearing RGP lenses and by this time my transplants were 16 years old when I first went back to RGP's and 20 years old by the time I had to give them up.

After persevering with trying different lenses both hard and soft, for me the Kerasoft 3 lenses were the best which got better still when the Kerasoft IC was launched and now I am taking part in the clinical trial of another lens. Since going to these soft lenses I no longer suffer dry eyes or eye strain when using spread sheets all day. No glare at night, starburst and halos are a thing of the past which makes it a whole lot easier for doing fine work and much to the embarrassment of some of the R&D people I work with that have so called perfect normal vision, I am spotting defects with the naked eye they are having to use magnifiers to see. I've now been wearing soft lenses for nearly five years and in July (not long now) the transplants will be having a 25th anniversary celebration.

With these lenses I can wear them for far longer than any of my friends who wear disposable silicon hydrogel lenses for vanity reasons.

Admittedly one eye is better than the other but only by one line on the chart as the experimental lens design is refined.

So for my job using spread sheets, managing projects, looking at fine detail, driving, international travel, KC has absolutely no effect at all. plus when KC was causing a problem, my employer made reasonable adjustments which meant me trying a few things in work I'd never thought of before which lead to a promotion while I was having problems with KC and last year I had another promotion when KC wasn't causing any problems. So even when I felt KC was a problem, I don't think me employer saw it as such once we made some adjustments.

Although there will be some who find no lens will give them the clarity of vision they require, you will only know by trying as many of the different lenses as possible, something I know is easier said than done. It takes a lot of patience and perseverance which depending on the type of work you do, their understanding, home life, support of health care providers etc...... this can be easier for some than it is for others.

Unless I have missed it, I haven't seen anyone mention the Display Screen Equipment Regulations which is a piece of legislation that requires employers to ensure that employees who use display screen equipment (computers, electronic displays on monitoring equipment, basically anything with a display screen) for more than 33% of their normal working day must undergo an assessment to ensure the equipment provided is both fit for purpose and set up correctly for the person using the equipment. This includes the work station area so seating position, setup of a desk, lighting, software and hardware used, medical conditions etc.

Until my KC started to cause problems, I never had such an assessment, it was the occupational health nurse that brought this to my attention. Once completed I found it easier to use a computer and one thing that is advised I the regulation guidelines is that regular breaks should be taken and frequent short breaks are better than long breaks after long periods. I was also advised to keep a glass of water where possible on hand to ensure I drank regularly and stayed hydrated which actually resulted in more comfortable lens wear and having to get a refill does force you to take a short break at frequent intervals with no loss in productivity. Downside is until you get used to the new regime you need more frequent comfort breaks but this helps to ensure you don't stay too long at the screen. The other result of my assessment was a larger monitor which also helps and now there are government schemes to help fund any equipment that we may require.

The reason you get dry eyes and eye strain is because staring at a screen or reading a book for a long period results in a lower blink rate so your eyes aren't being flushed with tears so often, so eye drops help but need to be used in conjunction with taking regular brakes to help prevent this reduction in blink rate.

Anyone else find that KC has no negative impact on work?

[Lia Williams]

Anyone else find that KC has no negative impact on work?

With my current lenses, I don’t have any problems with computer displays.

I did have problems about four or five years ago when I started to suffer from the effects of presbyopia. At the time I was wearing a Rose K lens in my right eye. Although always comfortable there was still some residual ghosting which I didn’t notice with my distance vision as the brain could ignore this ghosting. However with these lenses my right eye was left slightly short sighted compared to my left so when my left eye could no longer see close up the right could – but with ghosting. The ghosting I found annoying, especially when the images seemed oscillate. I never did manage to get suitable glasses to wear over my lenses to see the screen and close to.

Hence I was delighted when I was finally prescribed an RGP for my right eye that didn’t have any (noticeable) residual ghosting. Except I was intolerant to the lens and after three weeks wear I was back in the Rose K. The intolerance was solved by piggybacking. A manufacturing tolerance meant that a replacement left lens came up weaker than expected which gave me the perfect compromise. Right eye can see 6/5 in the distance and, in good light, the left eye can see to read and the screen.

regular breaks should be taken and frequent short breaks are better than long breaks after long periods.

This is so true! The only times my eyes suffer is when I forget to take a break or let myself become dehydrated.

Lia

[jeijma822]

I am a Wildlife Manager for the Department of Natural Resources, in the USA. I joined this forum due to the overwhelming activity that is involved on this site. I think that it doesn't matter where we are from, as we all suffer from the same ailment. Anyways, thanks you for this forum.
My eyesight has severely affected my ability to work. Since I cannot wear glasses or contacts, I am forced to live in a blurred world, to which I have become accustomed to. I do my absolute best to try and get through my day with squinting and trying not to let people notice my squints. But of course they notice. The main thing I've found in my field, is to carry a very nice pair of binoculars, those usually help my lack of vision in distance viewing. Of course as soon as a co-worker grabs my binoculars, they instantly comment on how terrible my eyesight is via the binoculars. I do my best to laugh it off, but it really is aggravating.
I'm hoping to have INTACS and C3-R procedures done in both eyes to hopefully help my eyesight in the future. Although reading through these forums, my confidence in these procedures has faded.
Ah a couple of answers for possible questions,
I'm a 30 year old male and have had KC for nearly 12 years. Although I do not think it has progressed much in the last couple of years, I do not remember what it is like to see correctly so I can't answer that. (Strangely enough, even my memories of younger years before the disease are blurry)
I've never had surgery done before and cannot wear glasses or soft or hard contacts as they are all not a hard enough prescription to correct anywhere near what I need to have done.
I have never felt so connected in a struggle as I have looking through these forums. With our combined knowledge and experiences this forum really does help people in need, that previously had no help.
Thank you again.

[DrG]

jeijma822, I am from the U.S. (Texas) and one of the very few optometrists who post in this forum. I have been able to help a number of KC patients with unique and effective optical technology delivered via a scleral-type lens. It is called wavefront-guided contact lenses. I just finished with another patient from the UK today. He said it was very difficult to find me from the UK, so I visit the various forums in an effort to build awareness of this technology. The main thing is that while the lenses can improve acuity, they can reduce or eliminate those ghastly ghosts and double images in many cases. A few of my patients have posted here, but management generally frowns upon advertising. So, I'll keep it short and you can let me know if you want to learn more.

[kieran19685]

I work for Next in head office - HR Systems looking at data all day - the joy of KC

[anya]

That's great thanks, do you think anti-glare helps with night time driving then?

Going back to the work thing, I had to adjust measuring lasers the other day. That was, interesting... seeing 5+ lines when you're trying to be within a tolerance of 1mm

[anya]

Hi everyone im anya ive had KC for many years and use glasses nice to hear somone else fets firework glare from lightimg at night

[Stace234]

I work as a gymnastics coach and also conduct professional development seminars for primary teachers.

This makes life interesting with progressed KC... I cant support children doing gymnastics moves with my glasses on, partly due to fear of breaking them and also because my co-ordination is off. However if i take them off i cant see the children!!! Its a juggling act daily!

Working under poor lighting in a gym is a nightmare too and the double vision makes guessing which child is which interesting. i find my memory of what they are wearing colour wise has significantly improved.

Its amazing how reading above we have all adapted to our jobs.

[LudicrousEye]

I'm an Illustrator and Graphic Designer… everything depends on my eye. Since my graft I've had to come away from computers as really struggle with the light sensitive and am sticking to more hand drawn stuff in my sketchbook... I now have carpal tunnel in my drawing hand, life pretty much sucks at the moment.

[nicole]

I'm so happy I found this support group I feel like nobody can relate to what I'm going through as its hard to try and picture how I see the world. I'm currently at university and its been a real struggle trying to keep up with assignments and revision as I can't look at a computer screen for too long, In terms of work I feel like its limited me greatly and I've always worked in a nursery although I do love working with children I feel like I also went down this route because it was safe as it's an occupation that does not require much work with computers, I have however had a few issues with some of the children who began mimicking my squint causing parents to become concerned.