Did I cause KC by rubbing my eyes as a child?

[Max]

Hi, Here's my background as I'm new to group: I was diagnosed with with KC in my left eye 12 years ago, and am now 31 years old. Fortunately for me the condition has remained relatively mild and is only noticeable in my left eye. It seems to have been stable for the last couple of years thankfully. I used to have to change my prescription almost twice a year and my eyesight would get better & worse sometimes daily. So far spectacles have been able to make satisfactory correction. When I was an eye-clinic outpatient I tried RGP (mainly for cosmetic and vision-perfecting reasons) but I found them too uncomfortable & hard to insert. I also had developed dry eyes (even before trying the lenses) which made lenses even more uncomfortable. I have now self-diagnosed my dry-eyes as being caused by a dietery sulphite allergy and am thinking of trying contacts again, maybe these new Kerasoft-3's which I've been reading about on this site.

I notice in the FAQ Forum the topic of 'causes' <of KC> and the comment that "Many will say dry eyes or eye rubbing, but these are considerd more as a symptom of an eye condition and probably not KC".
I used to rub my eyes occationally when I was a teenager just because it felt good, I also remember getting a tennis ball thrown in my left eye and a fleck of plastic from a sanding machine in technology class at school. I remembered rubbing my left eye on and off for a couple of days afterwards as it provided relief from the unprecidented irritation. I didn't see my GP because I am squeemish about my eyes. It sorted itself out after a few days.

About the same time (aged ~14) I had to start wearing glasses for shortsightedness in both eyes and (lens-induced?) astigmatism in my left eye only. About 5 years later KC had developed in my left eye enough to be diagnosed.
What I wonder is whether agressive rubbing of the eye (particulary as a teenager when the body is still developing, and maybe the eye too?) is likely to result in KC 5 years later?
Surely if it were genetic I would have the condition in both eyes?

Does anyone else with KC recall any eye-impacts when they were younger, or a habbit of rubbing before they developed KC?
I think I have some more topic-questions I will be posting shortly... all saved up!

Max

[John Smith]

Hi Max, and welcome to the forum.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

That's really the point here. Nobody knows whether you have KC because you rubbed your eyes, or whether you rubbed your eyes because they were irritated by sub-clinical KC.

The thinking now is more along the lines of having a genetic predisposition to KC and then something happens to trigger the condition. We have a pair of identical twins in the group who developed KC many years apart, which seems to support that theory.

So don't panic that you damaged yourself. It is unlikely to be the case.

[Karl R]

Hi Max and welcome.

That's the point with KC, as yet the exact cause is unknown.

KC could be genetic as John has pointed out.
KC could be related to allergies - Hay fever, eczema etc. I suffered from hay fever badly between the ages of 7 to 14, and still suffer from eczema 21 years later which started after the hay fever ended.
KC could be caused by eye trauma and / or excessive eye rubbing, I had a eye trauma when a lot younger and also rubbed my eyes alot.

The cause of my KC?????? Not known. Until a lot of further research is done we will not know the cause, and may well never know.

[Andrew MacLean]

Max

Welcome to the forum

Well, as you see there is no easy "yes" or "no" to your question, except that I think it is probably fair to say that the best answer is "probably not".

It is clear that Keratoconus is often associated with eye rubbing, but my own take on this association is that eye rubbing is a symptom or indicator of the presence, among other things, of Keratoconus. It would, therefore, be an intelligent response to a child who habitually rubs his or her eyes to ask the question, "Why is this child eye-rubbing?", rather than tell the child not to do it.

Andrew

[Dek]

Hi I'm new to the forum and would like to share some of my experiences. I have been wearing hard contact lenses for about 35 years now and was diagnosed with KC (or KC variant) about 15 years ago initially in my right eye only. I asked my Consultant at that time if there was any evidence that prolonged wearing of hard contact lenses caused this condition and he said no. I then thought that it was unlikely to prove a link as there was no national reporting system as with adverse drug effects. When he retired and I saw a new Consultant (who was also a corneal specialist) she asked if I rubbed my eyes and I said 'show me a hard contact lens wearer that does not!' especially when grit gets into the eye and the immediate and most practical solution is to rub the eye to displace it. KC is said to be an hereditary bilateral condition (so is myopia and the need to wear contact lenses in both eyes!) and there is no history of it in my family. I am convinced that the unnatural effect of putting hard pieces of plastic in my eyes for many years (before they became gas permeable and before soft lenses were available) have had a detrimental effect either primarily or secondarily by rubbing. I would have thought rubbing of the eyes for short periods as a child would not have been detrimental but the data is not available because it is not collated.
Regards
Dek

[Andrew MacLean]

Dek,

Welcome to the forum.

What you say makes sense, although it always comes back to the 'chicken and egg' with which John began the responses in this string. Perhaps KC was already present in a sub-clinical form when you began to wear your original hard lenses.

I am afraid that we are really all 'fumbling in the dark' trying to make sense of a perplexing world. We are like the four blind men who were taken to the zoo to meet an elephant. They went into the enclosure and were able to touch the elephant. Afterwards they were asked to describe the animal.

The first had been at the trunk. He said that an elephant was a kind of snake that moved in his hands.
The second had been at one of the legs. He said that an elephant was a sort of tree, with a large solid trunk.
The third had been at the side. He said that an elephant was like a huge wall.
The fourth had been at the tail. He said that an elephant was like a rope.

We all have a bit of the picture; even professional researchers have difficulty making sense of the epidemiology of Keratoconus. For the most part therapies have come about on the basis of the 'suck it and see' philosophy as interventions that have been developed for other conditions are tried out on KC. Some seem to work, and they become mainstream. Others do not.

Meantime, we just go on getting on!

Andrew

[Zeus]

Hello people,


No one should rub their eyes.With the rubbing you are progressing the KC and this means that you are thinning the cornea more and more.So,do not rub your eyes for no reason.

If from time to time want to relax your eyes you can read a book about Yoga and eyes.This is very interesting and furthermore this may sound a little odd, you can put two little spoons to the fridge and when they have cooled enough placed them gently as you lie down to your eyes which will be closed.That is a nice technique for refreshing the eyes.


All the best,

[Andrew MacLean]

I keep hypermelose (artificial tears) in the fridge. When my eyes get hot or itchy I bathe them!

Another alternative is to soak a clean face flannel in cold water and put this across the eyes. Very soothing!

I do agree that eye rubbing is often an early sign of keratoconus, but just because a child rubs his or her eyes does not mean that he or she will develop Keratoconus.

Andrew