KC and pollen allergy

[John Smith]

Indeed. I have severe KC, but never rubbed my eyes as a child.

I only started rubbing my eyes at all (and that was a relatively quick gentle rub) once I started wearing RGP lenses... (when I took them out) - and I was wearing those because my "eyes are not suitable for soft lenses"- probably because of early KC.

So, as Andrew said, eye rubbing alone does not cause KC. AND KC is caused without eye rubbing.

QED?

[Anne B]

Andrew

I can not work out why my KC was only diagnosed two years ago. I have been going to Moorfields since i was 11 (I am 32 now)

I have always had A topic eczema an d my eyes have always suffered they called it Vernal when i was younger. When i had my first child as far as i could tell my eyesight was fine. I startedto notice i problem about a year later (i was 25) my eczema around my eyes was gatting worse to. My optician reffered me back to Moorfields and i went to about 4 appointment no mention of KC but my eyesight was getting worse.

I was then reffered to my local hospital and went to 1 appointment( the consultant i saw was very rude ) so i decided to get some new glasses and carry on. My eczema got worse and so did my eyesight . Had 2 more children.
At this point i was really scared that i was going blind because not once had KC been mentioned. About two years ago i went to change my glasses and the optician sent me back to my local hospital were i saw a great consultant who diagnosed me with KC and told me i wasn't going blind. While all this was going on i was always at my local eye casualty due to eye infections etc but no one ever mentioned KC.
I always thought that after having my kids i had rubbed my eyes more because i was tired and awake in the night and then this had caused my KC. I think i am just coming to terms with having KC so i'm not really sure what i am talking about.

[Per]

Agree with Andrew and John here. It is however very interesting that even from this debate a majority of the participants admit they have been rubbing eyes regularly as a child or later.

Another interesting matter here is the high amount og people with downs syndrome with KC. Truly there are other reasons for this as well, but if there is something you see often when you see them in public is that they have their fingers up in their eyes .

[Andrew MacLean]

Early stage KC can be very hard to spot. Indeed it may be that it is only with the introduction of laser topography that the earliest signs can be measured.

If KC is slow to develop, which it often is, then it would be quite possible to have no discernable signs of KC until you hit your early thirties.

I think my point Anne is that you should not reproach yourself as if rubbing your eyes had caused the development of this condition. One of the things that some (but by no means all or even most) consultants seem to enjoy is laying a sense of guilt on their patients.

Lots of people here have exema, but I don't, so even that can't be a sole or sufficient cause of KC. Lots of people with exema do not have KC. Again no causal connection can be demonstrated.

Similarly, asthma, hay fever, some food allergies ...

The wonderful truth is that the epidemiology does not support any of the "old wives tales" that grew up around KC.

But then there was my mother! When I was a boy I used to read under the covers at night by the light of a torch. When she found me doing it she would say, silly boy, you'll ruin your eyes!

When I was diagnosed as having KC she had one of those triumphant "told you" moments. but I am pretty sure that there is no connectionb etween my KC and my reading late into the night as a boy.

Andrew

[jayuk]

Another point to consider is that the eye rubbing may merely be a trigger....the KC may actually lay dormant in more eyes than thought (which has become apparent through research) and all that is required is a stimulus to initiate the change?.......and thereafter the KC just takes over and continues changing the structure until the end of the KC map....

[GarethB]

I think the main trigger is hormonal which is why so many of us are diagnosed as teenagers.

There are many young women here who have been diagnosed after having children and again the body undergoes enormous hormonal changes.

As to what makes KC unpredictable is still a mystery as some it will stabalise and others degenration can be quite rapid.

I think there is a group that is genetically coded to be more oprone to KC than others.

Andrew is quite right, technology has allowed the diagnoses of KC to be much earlier. In addition the way the laser surgery centres protect themselves do carry out thourough examinations before agreeing to treat someone.

[jayuk]

Hmmm I wonder what the breakdown in terms of Male / Female, if it IS hormonal.....that would be interesting!

[Louise Pembroke]

Yes I'd be interested in that as I find my cornea practically changes shape [or at least feels like it!] just before/during menstruation. Either that or I just lose patience with the lens!

[Prue B]

My sister and I both have KC, she suffers excema, I dont. I have pollen allergies but these started after KC was diagnosed, she doesn't. Both of us however have had eye changes in pregnancy, both of us were post graft in each eye at the time and we both required refractive surgery as a result. Could be a coincidence I dont know. In both cases the changes remained after the birth of our respective kids and were repaired surgically. I tend to rub my eyes before I go to bed, but can not tell you how long I have done that, only noticed when I saw references with KC to rubbing. I tend to agree with Andrew in many people KC is dormant and something starts it. I think the trigger is different for individuals and the amount of trigger required also differs. That is my opinion based on no scientific evidence or research simply my opinion.

[Andrew MacLean]

The case for a hormonal trigger is pretty compelling. But it may not be the full story.

It may be that KC is a common expression for several unrelated things: for some an infection, for others a genetic predisposition ...

Andrew