UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

Hi there, im a 27 year old office worker from Scotland, who has had KC since I was 17 or so. Everything has been fine wearing gas permeable lenses in both eyes, obviously Ive lost about 20 or so, and had the odd painful day but of late its got much worse.

Been to the doctors about 4 times in the last 6 months, and every time i get prescribed with eye drops for infected eye...I can wear my left lens for about 10 hours but then have to take it out, my right eye feels sore whenever i wear it, and after it feels puffy and sore at the back of my eye.

Finally got referred to the eye clinic at my local hostpital(Crosshouse in Ayrshire Scotland) but its apparently a 42 week wait for appointments! Eek!

Anyone got any advice, I'm sure there are people much worse off than me but its kinda depressin when you work all day with lenses in, then have to wear glasses at home that make it difficult to do anythin that involves focusing closely, so my hobbies of Xbox, PC, football and tennis all kinda go out the window!!

Anyway, any advice is greatly appreciated, like good drops, or anythin like that- might make an appointment at the opticians but they're never to great

Thanks, Michael.

Hi Micaheal,

10 hours lens wear is good.

I need to use Systane eye drops to be able to do 10 - 12 hours and ensure I am properly hydrated.

If you work where there is strong aircon many of us have to remove lenses at regular intervals to use eye drops and pop the lenses back in.

Where repeated in fection is concerned, my hospital said that I would have to chuck the lens and start with a new one to ensure infection is not beeing carried over from lens to lens.

This as you know is why we all wash our hands whenever we mess around with lenses.

I find for me life is easier to be partially sigheted rather than correct my sight with glasses whe I can not wear lenses. Consequently I have given up motro racing but I am doing well in concours delegance now with the same car!

The home page of this site has a link to an employers leaflet as your employer is supposed to make reasonable adjustments if you are having sight problems. This should should fall under, because if lens wear is uncomfortable it is a sign something is not quite right and it might be better if you went without the lens for a while.

Hope this helps with comfort.

Hallo, and welcome to the forums.
You say you've been 4 times to the doctor and got eye drops for an eye infection.
DO you mean, the GP? Ordinary family doctor?
Ifo so, is s/he particularly expert in eyes?
Did the drops seem to do any good?
Unfortunately, it is not unknown for GPs to see a red, sore eye, say "Oh, it's conunctivitis" and prescribe antibiotic eye drops, when it is nothing of the sort.
Happened to me - turned out to be hay fever, and not infected at all.
I gather I'm not the only one - and that GPs tend not to be very expert at eyes, and adopt the strategy of 1. conjunctivitis 2. if not, refer to specialist.
Is this th eright eye that has been given eye drops in this way? (rather than both)
It sounds to me like you have a problem there of abrasion from the contact lens - probably a fitting problem, maybe the eye has changed shape as the KC advances, or possibly scratches on the lens.
Can you go back to whoever fitted it?
If you get a really bad time, can you go to an eye casualty unit at the hospital?
Rosemary

Hi, and welcome to the forum!
I agree with you Rosemary, it doesnt sound like your doctor know's that he is doing at all. You need to see a good Opthamologist, or something. I had similar trouble with the first one i saw, when i first found out that i had keratoconus. Maybe try changing doctors, and i use the systane eye drops every 3 hours everyday, so maybe try that.

Thanks for the reply Gareth rosemary and Jo, really appreciate it...one of my GP's is a eye specialist and it was him who referred me to the hospital...gonna make an optician appointment today for sat, so maybe i'll get a new fitting.

The eye drops were prescribed for both eyes, and I couldnt wear lenses for 5 days, but that wasnt physically possible as i cant do my job without them---arrggh! So I did one eye, the particuraly bad one(right). They seemed to help at the time, but as soon as i put the lens back in it felt the same. Maybe need to chuck it due to infection.

Anyway, these systane eye drops sound like they're worth a shot, will look into that, thanks again!

Michael.

Michael,

You are allowed to self certify sick for the first week. If you can not see to work your GP can sign you off for the extra time to allow the infection to clear.

Your employer should be aware of your condition and under the disability disrimination act tey are obliged to make reasonable adjustments to your condition.

For me that is a large monitor for when I can not see with magnification software. Acces to work also give me the option of providing transport to work if I can not drive which is quicker than public transport.

All this is in the employer leaflet that you can find a link to on the home page.

With eye infections and contact lenses it is important not to wear lenses at all so the eye heals. Keeping the lens in the storage solution and regularly cleaning the lens and replacing the storage solution goes a long way to removing any infection from the lens.

I know keeping lenses clean works as when I was wearing lenses pre graft when I worked down sewers, I never had an eye infection. When I went back to that work post graft, never had eye infections either.

That sounds suspicioulsy to me as if the problem is abrasion or pressure from the contact lens, and it is leaving the lens out for five days that is making the difference and not the (antibiotic properties of) the drops!
Giving eyes a rest from lenses is never a bad thing for them.
Keeping lenses clean is always a good idea too.
infection ? - I'm still wondering!
Hope your optician can give a verdict onthe fit and find you a more comfortable lens.
Rosemary

Michael

if you have difficulty with your contact lens fitting, see if you can get a referral to glasgow's Gartnavel Hospital. They have an excellend "in hospital" contact lens clinic where they are expert at fitting lenses to keeratoconic eyes!

Andrew

hi michael
this feeling of sore or "scratched eyes" like theyve been rubbed with sandpaper has happened to me on several occasions over the years and they often go bloodshot at these times. on every occasion it has meant a new fit becuase an eye has changed shape.
that is not to say there might not be an infection but it seems odd that your problem quickly resumes after a "break" from wearing.
my advice, get the fit checked asap before any damage is done ie scarring from a tight lens or abrasions from a loose lens
good luck mike

onwards and upwards

Cheers guys, yeah I think it must be fit related, although most mornings my eyes feel kinda swollen and puss-y...so who knows! Anyway, im goin to my Opticians next saturday so hopefully somethin there will help.

Im totally sick of people sayin "Man ur eyes are red", Or if Im on a night out and my eyes are red-afied "Are you stoned"? Grrrr!!!