UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

Hi All,

Since my last posting on the forum about the problems I was having with my sclerals my eyes have been much better . However, while I am not getting too many problems with tollerance, I am still getting rainbows when i look at bright lights. I think i am right in saying that this is due to the lack of oxygen. I have mentiond this to my specialist but it does not seem to worry him. Does anyone out there know if it's ok to wear sclerals while still getting rainbows, or will it cause long-term problems? I would be greatful for any advice.

Dolphin.

Remind me..... do these come on after you've had the lenses in for some time?
And are the rainbows in misty clouds?
If so, I'd be inclined to say that you ought to take them out and let your eyes recover when they get to that stage...... and they probably will recover.
It could be lack of oxygen, or excess moisture where your eyes swell up slightly under the lens.
You could ask to have your eye pressure measured - this is what turned out to be the problem causing me to see misty clouds with rainbow edges round anything light. But then, this was a new lens in a grafted eye.
You lens fitter is in the best position to judge what is going on here, as he has seen your eyes and your lenses and we haven't.
Rosemary

Hi Rosemary,

The rainbows seem to be there from when I first put them in but I have no cloudiness. I only notice the rainbows when looking at really bright lights, such as car headlights, spot lights and the sun. I was just wondering because I have no other symptoms or problems at the moment whether it was ok to wear them? I mentioned it to my specialist when I went to see him a few weeks ago and he didn't mention anything about it.

Dolphin

The best guy (if your not seeing him now) is to see if you get no joy elsewhere and can get a referral (if near for you) is - Ken Pullum - he has Sclerals for breakfast !

pepepepe wrote:The best guy (if your not seeing him now) is to see if you get no joy elsewhere and can get a referral (if near for you) is - Ken Pullum - he has Sclerals for breakfast !

ROFL!
Just thinking of Ken sitting in the pub after the London group meeting with his burger and chips and glass of white wine and trying to imagine him eating a plate of scleral lenses!
Or, for breakfast, maybe sclerals on toast with his cappuccino. (OK, you spell the stuff!)
What a vision.
Seriously......
If the rainbows are there as soon as you put them in if you look at a right light, that would suggest to me that it is some sort of chromatic abberation effect from the combined shape of the lenses and your eyes, rather than a health effect of having been wearing the lenses for any length of time.
BUt I'm not a specialist and I haven't seen your eyes or your lenses.
If your specialist isn't orried about it from the point of view of your eye health, that sounds encouraging.
But if the rainbows bug you - for example, if they are distracting while you're driving or working - then please go back and ask again about them. And meanwhile please be careful - we don't want you having a rainbow-edged accident.
Rosemary

Ken is already my specialist and I must say I think he is the best! I think that having those few weeks where I was having problems with my sclerals has made me a bit paranoid. The rainbows cause me no problems at all apart from making some lights look pretty. I suppose if Ken is not worried then maybe I should just chill a bit and stop expecting the worst to happen.

Thanks for the advice
Dolphin

There are huge advantages in knowing that we can trust our optometrist: if they say things are okay we may be more inclined to thole any abnormalities in our vision. But I'd still want to tell my optometrist about any abnormalities so that he or she can check to make sure that things are really as good as they seem.

I had a fenestration drilled into my scleral to allow for better oxygenation of my cornea.

Andrew

Hi Andrew - and what is this verb "to thole"? - is this a Scot-ism?
As for Ken drilling fenestration holes in his sclerals - I look forward to that with interest!
My early (PMMA) sclerals all had holes in, but not since I moved down to London and met Ken.
I've told him he'll make me one with holes in sooner or later...... and maybe one day.
If anyone else has, or even has had, this treat, do let me know!
[Ken, if you' re reading this .... oh, OK, carry on laughing! I don't mind really...]
Rosemary

Oxford English Dictionary

thole |θōl|
verb [ trans. ] Scottish or archaic
endure (something) without complaint or resistance; tolerate.

Yes, it is Scottish, although it is in the OED. We are always glad to help people discover new richness in the language.

Andrew

Thank you, Andrew; I a enlightened.
Rosemary