UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

Hello from Austria!

My story goes as follows:

From birth I have "hypermetropia" and "astigmatism". I also had "strabismus" which was corrected by operation at the age of 4.

Since then I never had a problem in my life
with my glasses. Now im 20, two years ago just before I got my driving license I noticed that my vision changed, so I got new glasses I was told that the "hypermetropia" dropped a little in other words I have become a little more shortsighted I guess.

Now the problems start:
Every 3 to 6 months I would need new glasses (steady at the moment though).
I have started to suffer from Glare and Halo effects, which I notice most while driving.
Since a month I suffer from slight double vision predominantly when viewing white text on black backgrounds. Dry Eye.

So I went to two different doctors one of them in austrias biggest hospital where they have experience with keratokonus.

First thing he said was keratokonus when I told him about my symptoms, but after examining the eye he said well maybe not...
I was then sent to this machine which would help to diagnose the desease, I dont know the name for it now in english, it was basically attached to a PC screen and there was this rotating blue rectangle with a red dot in the middle.

Now after that I was told that there is no physical evidence for keratokonus. They say I don't have it and sent me home.

Problem is, then what do I have? they were unable to tell me.

I was told by the doc that hard lenses might fix the double vision or reduce it. Is this right?

Now a few have told me that soft lenses make the eye even more dry advantages are that they are more comfortable and easier to get use to.

Any ideas, recommendations?

Thanks in advance!

Luca

Hallo, Luca. Ich war ein Kursteilnehmer in Salzburg. Wo in Österreich leben Sie?

I am afraid I cannot answer your question about alternative possible disgnoses. I hope you find the answer soon, and that your condition is easily managed.

Welcome to the forum.

Andrew

I live in Vienna

Well welcome to you in Vienna.

It is possible that wearing rigid gas permeable contact lenses would reduce or eliminate your double vision, but I am afraid that this does not come with any guarantees. The lens presents an even surface to the world, and as the gap between the lens and your eye is filled with thears, the complete lens (made of your own tears and the plastic of the contact lens) will eliminate any astigmatism in your eye.

Do you happen to know the German name of the machine they used to produce the topography of your eye?

All the best

Andrew

They just called it "Hornhauttopographie" which translated would mean Cornea topography.

I was told that hard lenses are getting use to, what about soft lenses they dont have the same effect? meaning they cannot correct the astigmatism as good as rigid lenses?.

It does take a little time to get used to wearing hard lenses, but if your astigmatism is steep (as in the case of keratoconus) they do offer the best correction. The problem with soft lenses is that they follow the contour of the eye, rather than presenting a smooth contour to the world.

the standard advice is that you wear an RGP for one hour the first day, two hours the second, and so on until you reach the target wear-time.

Another advantage of rigid lenses over soft ones is that they actually allow better oxygenation of the eye. The movement of the lens every time you blink allows for the replacement of the tear layer between the lens and the eye. the cornea is oxygenated by gas dissolved in the tears.

The machine is probably called a Corneal Topography machine in English, also. This technology allows for the gold standard diagnosis of Keratoconus.

Hi,

I got cyl -1.5 on the right and -2.0 on the left eye.

Thanks for the advice on contacts.

Im not familiar with the term "gold standard"
what does this mean? Most frequently used ?

Are there any more advanced machines that aid in the diagnosis?

Sorry, the term "Gold Standard" has come into English from the United States, it maans

figurative the best, most reliable, or most prestigious thing of its type : you can't rely on lab tests as being the gold standard.

Oxford English Dictionary

Luca, I am sorry for my careless use of a rather new English Idiom.

Andrew

Haha, no problem

Thanks for you help, cheers mate!

Sie sind willkommen!