KC and pollen allergy

[Per]

I have read somewhere about the high amount of KC sufferes that also suffers from pollen allergy. It seems to be a connection between early childhood rubbing of eyes and the development of KC. I suffer from both. Any others with pollen allergy

[Louise Pembroke]

Yes I suffer with pollen allergy and was bad as a child, the pollen can also trigger my asthma. I use antihistamines, eye drops as required, keep the windows closed and flush my eyes with hypromellose

[GarethB]

Per,

I have had mild hay fever, but agree eye rubbing is a link, however is far from being a cause of KC.

Eye rubbing is a way of stumulating tear production which to me suggests a problem with our ability to produce tears properly, that is to say one of the tear components is deficient.

In some types of asthma a surfactant in the lungs is not as good as normal lungs so causing breathing problems. This surfactant in tears to spread the lubricating component of tears across the eye I beleive is similar to one of the many oils in the skin that helps lock moisture in and in cases of KC where there is one or other of these conditions with KC all are linked.

When I get hafever, I do not sneeze, get a runny nose or a dry throat, but my eyes can get a bit sore.

My brother who also hase asthma has a differnt type of athma to me, his eczema is of a different type to mine. He suffers from hayfever and rubs his eyes, sneezes loads and gets a real runny nose, like cold symptoms. He has regular eye checks all his life and on many occasions we have shared the same optician and he has also been hecked out for KC in the past by the same specialist that made my diagnoses and he is free from KC.

As far as linking eye rubbing with hayfever, I feel it is only circumstantial. Hayfever is far more common than KC and must sufferers I know rub there eyes more than I have ever done. If there is a link, I think KC would be far more common.

[Per]

I think the study was conserned about the high amount of KC´ers that had some kind of allergy/pollen allergy. Of course there are far more people with allergy than with KC. When I read about this the first time I was convinced that allergy must have been one possible cause to my eye problems.

[DJ Smak]

I had bad allergies when i was a kid and i remember rubbing my eyes a lot, it was bad, but I don't have KC, PMD is related though

[Andrew MacLean]

DJ Smak

Welcome!

I have always rubbed my eyes, quite vitorously. I do have mild hay fever. I have come to think that the eye rubbing may also be a symptom of KC rather than a cause. I rub my eyes even in the deep dark winter.

Post graft I have never rubbed my right eye, but I manage to compensate with my left.

As to the link between allergy and KC I think that this is one of the genuinely persuasive parts of the epidemiology. There is a statistically significant, but neither universal nor sufficient association between KC and some allergies.

Andrew

[jayuk]

As a child I didnt really have that bad Hay fever, but I would rub my eyes till they went red raw!.....I think one commonaility between KC sufferers is the excessive Eye rubbing......whether or not this is the trigger for the corneal structure breakdown is another story!

[jayboi2005]

yup i know what you mean, i have STILL very bad hay fever that some times i can't even keep my eyes open i have rubbed them that much. My nose runs that much i cause myself it to bleed. Then when my hay fever kicks in my asthma starts off. And as hay fever is mostly associated with hot weather that normally triggers my eczema off.

I think that most people that have KC are A-Topic i definitely am, a list as long as my arm what i can and cant eat.

[Anne B]

I'm the same. Not sure if i get hayfever because my eyes are bad all year round. I never suffered with dry eyes they just water all the time.
Before i saw Mr Dart at Moorfields they were so sore the rims and outer corners would bleed i had to bath them open in the mornings (not a good look!) . Since being on the steriods and cyclosporin it has all cleared up and it has been so nice not to itch all the time. I also use FML drops and opatanol drops. I have been off of the steriods for 3 weeks now and so far so good. I also have a huge list of allegies mainly fruit and veg (bananas are really bad).

I have always been led to beleive that the KC was caused by eye rubbing.

Anne

[Andrew MacLean]

Anne

I think at one time a causal connection was assumed between eye rubbing and KC, but although there is a common relationship between the two, a causal connection has never been demonstrated.

Proposition 1: Rubbing eyes causes KC
Observation: Johnny rubs his eyes but does not develop KC
Conclusion: Rubbing eyes alone does not cause KC

But it is very common for KC patients to be and to have been eye-rubbers. What if the itch that leads to eye rubbing is a possible early sign of KC? The response would then be to ask "why is this child rubbing her (ir his) eyes?" rather than to tell the child not to do it!

Andrew