UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

Hi

I have just found the KC Group website, looking for advice on humidifiers.

The "Keratoconus at Work" leaflet is a super clear document. It's been useful explaining KC to the family. But it's main aim is clearly for employers of full-time staff.

I'm self-employed, visiting various client offices. I have been wearing gas permeable lenses for only a couple of months. Generally they have been fantastic. But I have a problem visiting offices that have dry air, where the lens starts to "bind" off-centre and I can't see to work. The lens can also start rubbing, and my eye becomes very painful.

I am often on site 8 hours in a day (and as many as 13), but only ever as a visitor. I may be in a closed office, in a meeting room (with others), or sat in a large open plan office.

Can anyone suggest:

(1) If a portable humidifier would be of any help in these situations?

(2) If so, what type/spec?

(3) Any specific model that's easily portable, and preferably stylish and reasonably discrete?

(4) Or should I be doing something like spraying wetting solution into my eyes every hour or so?

Any suggestions appreciated.

Thanks
Chris Challis

Hi

I havent used humidifiers before, but have you tired refresher eye drops/artificial tears when your lenses feel dry and uncomfortable. There are different ones available, viscous and watery types. The more viscous drops require you to remove your lenses first. You can also remove your lenses and rinse them out in saline and reapply apply conditioning solution and reinsert them, this usually gave me a few extra hours of wear time. You may also find cleaning solutions with protein removers helpful as cleaner lenses are often more comfortable. I also found systane eye drops useful before inserting lenses and would usually extend my wear time slightly and make them feel a bit more comfortable.

Hope that helps a bit

Hi Chris

I have a similar problem to you in that the lens sits off centre when dry.

To overcome this I have found lubricating eye drops such as Systane help moisturise so trapping the moisture in the cornea and also lubricate the cornea and lens surface to help with comfort.

To use the drops, you do need to remove the lens before adding the drops, but theycan be re-inserted straight away. For best results, I have found that it takes a couple days to get the full effect.

I have also found wearing one lens at a time helps, you soon get used to seeing out of one eye and then the other later in the day.

One possible reason why the KC at work leaflet does not include self employed is that we did not know what issues might be faced, although it was raisd at last years confrencee by one of the guest seakers.

I m sure anything you may find relevent to add for self employed can be added in the next revision as we learn more. The commitee will be best to advise on this.

Hope the infor helps.

Regards

Gareth

Yup, Chris

Welcome to the board!

I'm with Gareth. if you can't humidify the environment, then think laterally and directly humidify the eye! Systane seems to be pretty well used by folks. I use hypermelamose.

All the best

Andrew

ps I swiped the little smiley from Knight on another string. sorry, but I'm just showing off, not that I can make custom smilies (I can't), but that I've found out how to swipe them and plant them in messages. A small thing I know to all the techno-philes out there, but for me ... that's a major achievement!