5 ms·
Thank you @mods for re-upping my submission! Judging by the Keratoconus sub-reddit [reddit], there are probably plenty of undiagnosed people out there - maybe
by miduil 8y ago
Thank you @mods for re-upping my submission!
Judging by the Keratoconus sub-reddit [reddit], there are probably plenty of undiagnosed people out there - maybe not even noticing their eye-sight is constrained.
Keratoconus is a disorder which describes the middle cornea to thin, bulge outward, and form a rounded cone shape, causing plenty of issues - most noticeably double vision, astigmatism and red dry eyes. According to Wikipedia it affects about 1 in 2000 people.
The disease can progress in irregular speed and so far I understand only Corneal Cross-Linking (CXL) OPs showed positive results in reducing/stopping the progression, but it's not side-effect free and at least for me the CXL was a rather traumatic experience and it renders your eye-sight pretty bad for the next weeks and even a year after I could still notice difference in my vision.
Having a Eye Drop instead of CXL would mean more people could be cured and the cure would be way less invasive. So this news is a big deal for everyone who's affected and didn't had CXL yet.
If you notice double vision on high-contrast sharp images such as white text on black background, chances are you are affected. [0], [1]
[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kc_simulation.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kc_simulation.jpg
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kc_simulation2.png https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kc_simulation2.png
[reddit]: https://www.reddit.com/r/Keratoconus/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Keratoconus/
- kstrauser 8y agoWait, what? Your first link is exactly how I see things. I even photoshopped this for my optometrist to show her what oncoming car lights look like at night. I wear glasses so I've had any number of people examine my eyeballs over the years. Is this something I should worry about, or should I expect that someone would have caught it by now?
- kmm 8y agoI have similar complaints and no optometrist has been of help. It's really annoying at night, or simply when watching TV, the subtitles are always subtly doubled. I did get a corneal topography scan a few years ago, and they ruled out keratoconus. Perhaps you can ask for it, it takes like 5 seconds.
- kstrauser 8y agoIt's slightly annoying during the day, but I can write software without my glasses. The worst time is while driving at night, when I can't tell which pair of oncoming headlights is the one I'm actually supposed to avoid.
- miduil 8y agoI'd say if you haven't got checked for this (and if it hasn't been discussed yet) it's advisable to ask for getting a check. It's easy to test if they have the right tools available and I'm not sure how many optometrists are aware of Keratoconus. Back then it felt like poor luck that they've diagnosed me.
- adrianmacneil 8y agoIf you're in or near SF I recommend looking up optometrist Dr. David Stamper, he specializes in keratoconus and similar issues.