UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

Hello Peeps,

I haven't been one here for a while and hope things are reasonably OK with you all.
I had another 3-month follow-up appointment yesterday and was unable to have the lens check because I have signs of an allergic reaction inside the eyelids (mostly upper) and a small scratch on the front of the eye, which means my eye won't tolerate the lens at the mo. My eczema has been worse recently, so I guess the inner lids have joined in (ho hum)!

Saw the ophthalmologist and was told to use Minims prednisolone 0.5% drops short term. He has packed me off to the GP to ask them to prescribe preservative-free sodium cromoglycate (which will take a week or so to arrive as it has to be ordered from Moorfields, usually).

I just wanted to check with others how they got on using Minims prednisolone drops while they have keratoconus (i.e. prior to a graft) since I know ophthalmic steroids have to be used with caution of there is thinning of the cornea, which there usually is to some extent in KC.

I would welcome your experiences and views.

BusyLizzy

I got on fine with them when I too had a reaction to my lenses in the Summer of 2005, the symptoms I had were as you described, but I went to eye casualty because the irritation was occuring between apointments.

Since then there has been no reoccurance because I use a lubricating eye drop, Systane works for me and it is as if it forms a barrier between the eye and the lens and the eye lid and the lens, so been reaction free for 2 years now and consequently my lenses are over three years old with no prescription change. The drops have also made lens wear a lot more comfortable.

I did try several different eye drops before making my selection and found there was an accumulative effect in that the more I used them, the more comfortable lenses were. Innitialy I was using drops every couple of hours, but after a couple months a drop before putting lenses in and a drop when I took them out is enough. The ony time I use more if I feel irritation which is usually due to the onset of a cold, but now I can still wear lenses even with a cold. Before this was an impossibility.

Hope you recover as well as I did.

Regards

Gareth

BusyLizzie,
It must be a Helensburgh thing, perhaps its the Clyde air because I have had similar problems all through the summer. Like you, its not just my eye but also the lids that really don't like the lenses at all. I used the prednisalone and it did help clear it up. I took the drops for about a week along with anti-biotics to clear up the cists which followed on from the allergic reaction. It worked really well but as soon as I went back to wearing lenses, within a week I was back to square one. Ultimately, I am now on a 3 month course of anti-biotics to clear up the conjunctivitus and cists which all resulted from the allergic reaction and left my eyes in a grim state. I don't wear rgps anymore and I am diong OK with Kerasoft instead. Because the Kerasoft lenses are nice and floppy, they seem to bounce of the eye-lid a lot less, so thay are a great improvement. In the end it comes down to an intolerence of foreign objects, which has always been an issue for me. I too have exzema and hayfever. I cannot even wear a leather or plastic watchstrap or a polyester shirt as my skin just doesn't like it.
I should think the steroids will help but it might be temporary relief. So you may need to thrash out a longer term solution with your consultant unless it is just a temporary reaction.

Lizzy,

Welcome back!

I used prednisolone drops dispensed in minims both pre- and post-graft.

The one slight problem with them that I encountered was a slight interaction with the epithilium that gave me impoverished sight for about three quarters of an hour after use. This effect was barely noticeable.

All the best

Andrew

Hello Gareth, Andrew and Matthew!

Thanks for your responses.

I've been using two drops three times a day since Tues eve and am aiming to cut down to one drop twice a day from tomorrow until Monday.
I'm not too worried about using it short term, but I realise overuse can lead to cataracts.
The preservative-free sodium cromoglycate is ordered and I can collect it in about a week, so hopefully once I begin using that, I won't need the Prednisolone drops as much or at all...

Going by Gareth's experience, maybe I shouldn't start wearing the lens again until after I've been using the cromoglycate to prevent any more reactions (I can hope).
I too have had probs with dry eye for years-worse while I had an Aquasil lens which was softer on the outside and since then have been prescribed preserv-free Liquifilm and bought Systane to use, and have been using them religiously...With me, it seems to be a systemic reaction, not helped by the presence of foreign bodies (and I'm not a xenophobe: I can't afford to be; I teach foreign languages!).

The interesting thing about this is that I was on a homoeopathic desensitisation programme of isopathic remedies for 2-3 months over the summer. I stopped it about a month ago and wonder whether stopping that has coincided with the increase in allergies, or if it's because the weather here is now wetter and causing the mould allergy to come on full force.
I can't help but agree with Matthew about there being something in the air here in the west coast, or perhaps it's the drinking water...

Thanks again for your interest and help.