Do I have Keratoconus?

[trenzterra]

I'm 15-year-old this year and not living in the UK (but I post here as I find it the most active forum!).

At the beginning of the year I had a prescription increase. After a few months I realised that my vision in my right eye was sort of distorted, I am able to read text at a distance but I have to strain my eye to read it. So I got a prescription increase of 75 degrees in my right eye, and 25 increase in astigmatism.

For the first few days all was well and clear, then the same problem came back... I decided to hold off for a while coz perhaps it was just me getting used to it, but I still get that distorted vision. The problem is strange... some days I get very clear vision in my right eye, then the next I will get distorted vision...

To cut the long story short, is this one of the symptoms of Keratoconus?? My left eye as of now is perfectly fine, I can read 6/6 or even 6/5 with my prescription glasses.

PS. I find that by stretching the right side of my eyelids I am able to see properly with my right eye

[Andrew MacLean]

trenzterra

Welcome to the forum. You do not say where you are posting from , but let us assume that you are able to access medical, optometric and ophthalmological services.

the straightforward answer to your question is that nobody here can possibly know whether you have keratoconus. But we can tell you how to find out.

If you were in the UK you would go to your family medical practitioner (we call them General Practitioners) and ask for a referral to a hospital Ophthalmologist.

Ophthalmology is the branch of medicine concerned with the study and treatment of disorders and diseases of the eye.

The Ophthalmologist would be the one to diagnose Keratoconus, if it is present. I guess that in most jurisdictions there is a similar pathway to specialist services.

If you do have keratoconus, then do not panic. Most people with KC live their whole lives with the condition comfortably managed by wearing contact lenses of various sorts.

If the time were to come when you needed extra treatment, then it is still not time to panic! Not only is there already a number of treatments available, but the number is increasing all the time.

All the best

Andrew

[Lynn White]

Hi Trenzterra,

If I interpret your prescription rightly, then the change was very small. Although happening very quickly, the changes may well be due to several different things, KC being only an unlikely one of them. Without examining your eyes, as Andrew says, its impossible to tell.

To advise you further we would need to know what country you ARE in!

I am curious though why you should think of keratoconus in the first place? Has it been mentioned to you?

Lynn White

[trenzterra]

I'm from Singapore...

I was looking at Wikipedia the other day and Keratoconus happened to be the featured article of the day so I took a look and the part where it said "fluctuation in vision" kinda worried me...

I went to a clinic the other day to get a referral to a hospital but the appointment is not until one month later so I thought that perhaps I would try here meanwhile. .

[trenzterra]

Hi Trenzterra,

If I interpret your prescription rightly, then the change was very small. Although happening very quickly, the changes may well be due to several different things, KC being only an unlikely one of them. Without examining your eyes, as Andrew says, its impossible to tell.

To advise you further we would need to know what country you ARE in!

I am curious though why you should think of keratoconus in the first place? Has it been mentioned to you?

Lynn White

I'm just curious, how much is 25 increase in astig. in the astigmatism index thingy?

[Andrew MacLean]

trenzterra

As I understand it the route you take to specialist medical services in Singapore is much the same as here.

I only once visited the lion of the sea, but loved the time I spent there.

Yours aye

Andrew

[asylumxl]

i think one thing most people notice is the kind of hazey double image effect of keratoconus, or atleast thats what i did.

[Lynn White]

I assume from what you are saying that your astigmatism increased by 0.25 dioptres which is the smallest increment of power that there is. I cant really say more as what you told us here was not exactly accurate!

If you want to copy out EXACTLY what your current and previsou prescriptions are I wil try and be more precise!

Lynn

[Andrew MacLean]

Steady Lynn, the poster is only 14 (15 this year). (S)he has done extraordinarily well to find the site and may not have a print out of the optometrist's prescription.

Andrew

[Lynn White]

Hehe Andrew..

I am just assuming she has a written prescription.... !! Hence my asking that she copy out what she sees written down.

Lynn