UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

Hi is it ok if I ask some questions as I have had a keratconus diagnosis for over a year and still total confused

Of course it is OK to ask questions. What would you like to know?

Lia

Thanks lia
Well I was told my astigmatism is low, left eye -3.75 right eye -3 so what is confusing me is then why can't glasses correct my keratconus because it is so low and why do I have monocular double vision, glare, halos if it's so low ?

Keratoconus is an irregular astigmatism whereas most astigmatism is regular.

Regular astigmatism would mean that the astigmatism part of your prescription is at 90 degrees to the rest of the prescription. But as we have an irregular astigmatism a glasses' prescription doesn't fully correct the problem, so it's not just the amount of astigmatism that one has but how irregular it is.

So it is the irregular astigmatism that is causing the multiple images (also known as ghosting), the glare and the halos.

Lia

Ah that makes sense lol
I have read that person with sever keratconus can have better vision or vision without as many defects like ghosting then a person with mild keratconus who can have more symptoms, what's the reason for that.
Is it common to feel embarrassed about having keratconus and what I mean by that is asking for help or using aids to make thing better, as I have suffer poorly with nighttime vision and with glares from cars its unsafe for me to go out alone at night so I was told by my consultant to speak with rnib to get something to use but I feel embarrassed and ashamed to ask the as clinacly my keratconus is considered mild to moderate.

I think quite a few of us find it hard to ask for help - I know I find it a lot easier to ask for help for someone else than for me! And we all cherish our independence and like to think we can cope. But there are lots of aids that can make life easier for some of us so there's nothing to be embarrassed about in asking an organisation like RNIB for help.
Poor night vision, halos and glare tend to go with KC whether it's severe or not. But if you're getting a lot of ghosting in daylight too, then it might be that a slight adjustment to your contact lenses could help - certainly worth mentioning next time you go for a contact lens check up.
And if you'd like our information booklet about keratoconus, just e-mail your postal address to anne@keratoconus-group.org.uk and I'll send you one.