What Is Keratoconus And How Is It Treated

Most people have round corneas, but an irregular cornea is the primary reason people experience refractive errors like nearsightedness and farsightedness. Keratoconus is another condition affecting the cornea. It occurs when the cornea thins, bulges, and becomes cone-shaped. If you have keratoconus or other vision needs and are looking for an optometrist near you, consider Advanced Family Eye Care, which serves the Lehigh Valley area, including Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton, PA.

Causes and Symptoms of Keratoconus

Most keratoconus patients first experience the condition in their teens or twenties when they notice poor vision in one eye (sometimes both) or experience double vision when they close one eye. Although the cause of keratoconus is unknown, many believe it has a genetic basis. It is essential to recognize that keratoconus can lead to permanent vision loss if left untreated. While there is no cure for keratoconus, most patients can be successfully treated and face limited lifestyle restrictions.

Diagnosing Keratoconus

Keratoconus is often diagnosed during a routine eye exam, which includes visual acuity testing using an eye chart or phoropter (the large binocular-like device). At Advanced Family Eye Care, we also use a profilometer, an instrument that measures and maps the shape of the eye, capturing up to half a million data points.

Keratoconus may not continuously worsen or do so predictably, so eye doctors prefer to use the least invasive treatments available. Typically, the least invasive treatment includes eyeglasses or contact lenses, such as scleral lenses, to correct the effects of keratoconus. While most contact lenses float atop the cornea, scleral contact lenses are larger and rest on the whites of the eyes.

Scleral lenses must fit the shape of the cornea and sclera as closely as possible, so we use the data captured by the profilometer to create individualized conical lenses that fit the exact shape of the patient’s eyes. Patients often need more time to adjust to wearing scleral lenses than traditional ones, but most soon adapt and wear them comfortably, making them a standard nonsurgical keratoconus treatment.

Contact Advanced Family Eye Care

If you are looking for treatment for keratoconus or for an eye doctor near you in the Lehigh Valley area, including Allentown, Bethlehem, or Easton, contact Advanced Family Eye Care. Call our office today at (610) 434-1371 or use our contact form to request an appointment.