Does this sound like keratoconus?

[Gimzim]

Hey guys, I know I can't get a diagnosis without seeing a professional, but since I'm not able to get to the opticians for a few weeks I wanted to post on here just to see what your thoughts were, and maybe to get some peace of mind.

I've been looking at keratoconus recently, and wondering if I have it. Previously I've only been diagnoses with astigmatism, and relatively mild astigmatism at that. What confuses me, though, is the standard of my night vision.

When it's night time and I look at a light - streetlight, neon sign, or whatever - the image is always 'ghosted' underneath, and generally distorted in all directions. There's no major streaking, but it's very, very fuzzy indeed, and gets to the point where, for example, I can't see if a car's indicating because its back light is 'ghosted' beneath it blocking my vision.

The thing is, I don't tend to get this effect when I'm looking at stuff in the daylight. Stuff is blurry, but there's no 'double' to the vision in he way that keratoconus is usually described. I can function without lenses as well, although often can't recognize people till they're up close.

Can you get these visual effects with keratoconus? Or does the fact that my daytime vision's generally OK mean it's just astigmatism?

Highly confused, so I'd really appreciate whatever help and advice you wise folks have.

[JoshWilliamson]

Hard to say really, I can only relate to my KC, I wouldn't class myself an expert..but...

I'm not entirely sure what would happen to your vision with your astigmitism, but I believe people with KC (certainly me) get bad night blindness, this would involve your night vision being fuzzy (like a TV set with no signal with the black and white raining fuzz) on a dark background. I'm not sure if people without KC get this though. And yes, the ghosting you mention sounds very KC. I get exactly what you mention. But again, I am not sure if this symptom is exclusively KC.

If you're like me your vision would be better in the day. KC is very light dependant. In the right lighting conditions I sometimes don't notice my KC. My overall vision is ok, but my most affected eye I do notice. it tends to be in lower light conditions that I really notice it with the double vision, fuzzyness, halo's etc. And again, sometimes I don't recognise people untill theyre close, their facial features can be fuzzy and indistinguishable from afar. So that points towards KC.

Is sunlight painful for you? People with KC are sensitive to higher light. My eyes shed tears in bright lighting conditions, especially sunlight. Sunglasses are a must.

How sensitive are your eyes? Do you get alot of red eye for example? Perhaps after a shower. And are you prone to allergies?

And do you have the astigmatism in one eye? People with KC tend to have one eye worse than the other, this is where the disease starts.

It's pretty hard to give a diagnosis online, so I wouldn't worry too much until you visit your optician. But If you do have KC it sounds like you only have it mildly like me, especially if you dont notice it in the daytime, so I wouldn't worry too much if you're concerned, it's treatable.

Hopefully people on here can give better expert advice, but hopefully some of what I have said can be of some use.

Good luck with your diagnosis.

[rosemary johnson]

SOunds a little bit like what I get from my grafted eye - which shouldn't have KC any more, exactly, but is very short-sighted and very astigmatic.
Each light source - like street lights down the road, or approaching car headlights - turns into a whole pattern of dots and stripes. But not exactly "haloes" nor the big KC streaks I get in the other eye.
I described it as like an illuminated pine cone. If you imagine dipping a fir cone in glue, then rolling it across a tray of glitter, then hanging it up in the light so all the patches of glitter shine?? Originally, the patterns were almost oval, then gradually changed through barious shapes of triangle.
That sound familiar at all??
I don't get those in daylight - though the eye is very shortsighted and can't really see anything clearly; only after dark.
(I'm now so fed up with the patterns I tend to walk about with my grafted eye shut after dark so as not to see them>)
Rosemary

[Gimzim]

Thanks for the responses guys.

I wouldn't say my eyes are sensitive to light, as such - at least that's not something I've noticed. They are quite sensitive to wind, though, and a not-very-strong breeze can be enough to make them a bit teary sometimes.

Also, both eyes are more or less the same - I couldn't say one's any worse than the other. They haven't changed in quality of vision for a few years now.

I guess the question I'm asking is: is it possible to get these night distortions with just astigmatism, or is it only with keratoconus? For me they're really annoying, and significantly blur vision, yet for example my father (who also has astigmatism) has never mentioned this as a problem for him.

Gim

[JoshWilliamson]

If you're eye's arent sensitive to bright light and if both of you're eyes are more or less the same then I would say that you don't have KC. Might be wrong though, some others on here may need to confirm that.

Sorry, not to sure if your astigmatism could cause the same night symptoms of KC, hopefully some others here will know though.

[rosemary johnson]

Not impossible to ahve two eyes more or less the same with KC. Mine oth came up at the same time and I've not been able to tell one was better or worse than the other (except when whited-out with hydrops, that is).
Light sensitivity can vary, too.
You wreally need to see the specialist and have a topograpy done (that's a sort of contour map of the eye surface).
Astigmatisma nd KC are on a sort of scale - regular and rugby-ball shaped is "just " astigmaism, as it start to get more irregular, that starts to et more like KC.
Rosemary

[Andrew MacLean]

Gimzim

Welcome to the forum.

The straightforward advice would be that you should go to an optometrist; they will look at your eye and tell you if you ought to go to an ophthalmologist.

Andrew