UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

I was told I had Keratoconus about three years ago and was given rigid lenses but never got on with them and couldn't find a comfortable fit. For the past 2 years I have been using nothing and just struggling along (a bit of head in sand tbh) recently I felt like my sight was worse then usual so decided to get a test. before I could book an appointment though I started having huge problems with my right eye (red, hugely painful, weeping constantly) turned out I had a corneal ulcer. Anyway that was a month ago and I've just had a proper eyetest. The optician said she really wasn't really confident treating the Keratoconus seeing as I couldn't get on with rigid lenses so she has referred me to the cornea clinic at the hospital which will be a 6=8 month wait apparently and in the meantime I'm going to have glasses. I have some clouding and scarring on the right cornea which she hopes will settle down as it heals more. My prescription was as follows

SPH CYL AXIS
R +1.00 -2.25 45.0
L +0.75 -3.25 120.0

Could anyone please explain it to me? She did say that it was stable when compared to my last test which I'm guessing is a good thing? although she then said that my eyes had switched over in terms of which one was working best as last time my left eye was noticably worse and now my right eye is apparently which is confusing me if the prescription hasn't changed much.

Any help deciphering would be gratefully received.

Hi Lloyd,

Your prescription means you have astigmatism, as in more power in one direction than another. The plus and minus numbers also mean you have a mixture of longsightedness and shortsightedness.

Keratoconus means you have an area of thinning on your cornea. If it is central, it affects the vision significantly. if it is off centre, your vision is better overall but often tends to be more "shadowy" or "ghosted". Your prescription is actually quite mild for keratoconus and looking at your overall history (being able to manage without any contact lenses) and the type of prescription you have I would hazard a guess the thinnest parts in your eyes are off centre.

When your optom is talking about "worse", she is meaning worse overall vision. The vision from your right eye is now worse than the left due to the clouding and scarring, not the "numbers" of the prescription.

You do not HAVE to have small, rigid lenses for keratoconus, there are soft lenses available as well which work very well. Also, rigid lenses do not have to be like the ones you tried. Larger lenses are more comfortable and you can get scleral lenses that cover most of your eye - these are also more comfortable.

There is a 6-8 month wait through the NHS due to pressure on clinics. There are, though, private clinics that deal with keratoconus and there is a list here of optometrists who have an interest in fitting keratoconus.

Hope this is of help and if you want more information, just ask!

Lynn