UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

Do people take any supplements for their eye health or corneas?

I have fairly advanced KC, diagnosed at around 13/14 years old and I am now nearly 34. I have worn contacts for all that time and have been seen at local hospital for quite a few years, then had a stint of going to Moorfields and the last few years I have been with the corneal clinic at QVH East Grinstead where I had Intacs in my right eye, which were removed after 3 month follow-up appointment (blood vessels in cornea had started to wrap themselves around the implants). Had CXL in left eye a couple of years ago but have been told my right eye cornea is too thin and it seems stable now anyway (probably can't get much worse).

It seems I'm at the end of what they can do me for me surgically now, short of corneal grafts which I don't want to do if at all possible because of the potential complications and having to take anti-rejection drugs for life. I do manage with the lenses although my eyes do get very dry and very red. I have to limit the amount of time I can wear them each day (try to keep it to 10 hours if remember to take them out) and have the odd day off from wearing them but I squint badly to see when not wearing them which probably doesn't help either. I have pretty severe vascularisation of the corneas now which could possibly be problematic for a future graft anyway, I don't know.

At my last appointment, the consultant suggested I take flax seed oil capsules. He didn't really explain why (they are a good source of Omega 3's) but I got some anyway and have been taking them. I don't know if these are of any benefit to my eyes/corneas but Omega 3's can't be bad for me in general so I'll carry on taking them I suppose. I stumbled across something Colladeen when ordering the flax seed caps online - it is supposed to help maintain and support collagen in the body. They mainly promote it for skin, water retention and veins/capillaries related issues. But I wonder if it would be beneficial to KC sufferers as KC is caused by some sort of deficiency or degradation of the collagen in the cornea isn't it? Any opinions on this?

Or are there any other supplements that other KC patients in a similar situation to myself swear by? Something that improves natural lubrication of the eyes to aid lens comfort maybe? Or something that reduces vascularisation of the corneas so eyes don't appear so red? Or is this too much to ask of a dietary supplement?

Hi Smurfington,

Welcome to the forum.

I don't know of any supplements to take for corneas.

One thing that does help is keeping hydrated and also there are various lubricants/artificial tears one can use to make lenses more comfortable during the day.

One thing I do is to not put my lenses in immediately on waking in the morning. I find that my overall wear time is improved if I put them in about an hour after I wake up. I also find it useful to have a back up pair of glasses to wear before I put my lenses in as I can see so little unaided.

Lia

just referring to this - 'severe vascularisation'

What type of contacts do you wear? It is still possible to get vascularisation from RGP's?

Thanks

kieran19685 wrote:just referring to this - 'severe vascularisation'

What type of contacts do you wear? It is still possible to get vascularisation from RGP's?

Thanks

Hi Kieran,

The lenses I use are a hybrid lens. Like a RGP in the middle with soft outer ring bonded to it, quite large diameter - I'm not sure what manufacturer or what they are called as they arrive to me from the hospital optician in a plain vial. I have been using this type for around 5 years, before these I was using a similar type which were a bit smaller (these were Cibavision Softperm I think). I have worn these type of lenses since I was about 14 years old.

I tried small RGP's for a bit that were prescribed by the optician at Moorfields but I couldn't get on with them. They were never stable on my cornea due to the steepness and felt really uncomfortable and kept falling out.

Maybe I'll contact the optician and get details of my prescription.

Thanks

Just worried whether 'severe vascularisation' is a common issue when wearing lenses for a number of years?

When it comes to the vitamins. Could you comment such recommendation, which can be found in many clinics which perform cross-linking:
"do not take Vitamin C supplements within 1 week of the CCL procedure".

Has anybody heard that before the procedure?
I'm so confused, because vitamins are good...

"I'm so confused, because vitamins are good..."

Hello Luaskf,

Vitamins are indeed good. I think this precaution is particular to US clinical trials as they want to make sure YOUR intake of vitamin C is not synergizing the cross linking process (i.e. you are on equal footing with other eyes).

In other words, they are more concerned about the trial data than your eye getting better. Go figure!

adam1979 wrote:
Vitamins are indeed good. I think this precaution is particular to US clinical trials as they want to make sure YOUR intake of vitamin C is not synergizing the cross linking process (i.e. you are on equal footing with other eyes).

In other words, they are more concerned about the trial data than your eye getting better. Go figure!

Many thanks for the answer. But I saw this recommendation in Europe as well:
http://www.finlandeyecenter.com/corneal.html
http://www.lexum.pl/proces-leczenia-stozek-rogowki.html