Keratoconus Specialists in Spring, Texas
Keratoconus is a rare, progressive disease that affects the cornea, which is the clear, transparent structure at the front of the eye.
Meet Our Keratoconus Specialists in Spring, Texas
Our Doctors Can Diagnosis and Treat Keratoconus
Your cornea is the transparent, outer lens of your eye, and it typically has a smooth dome shape. Keratoconus describes a condition in which the corneal structure isn’t strong enough to maintain a healthy ball shape.
As a result, the cornea bulges outward into more of a cone. Our professional optometric team at our eye care clinic is knowledgeable about how to diagnose and treat keratoconus.
Keratoconus is rare, with an estimated one person out of every 2,000 having the condition. It generally appears in the teenage years and can progress slowly or rapidly.
Keratoconus also runs in families, so if you or your children are at risk, it’s advised to contact us for a thorough eye exam.
Meet with our Keratoconus Specialists in Spring, Texas to define your eye’s condition and ways for treatment.
Causes of Keratoconus
Your cornea is held in place by very small collagen fibers. When they are weakened and too fragile, they aren’t able to preserve the round shape of your cornea.
A reduction in the protective antioxidants of your cornea, which act to destroy damaging by-products made naturally by corneal cells, is what causes keratoconus.
In addition to genetics, some types of eye injuries may increase your chance of being diagnosed with keratoconus.
Specific ocular diseases, such as retinitis pigmentosa, vernal keratoconjunctivitis and retinopathy of prematurity, as well as some systemic conditions (Down syndrome, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Leber's congenital amaurosis and osteogenesis imperfecta) are also associated with this corneal abnormality.
Our Keratoconus Specialists in Spring, Texas have years of experience identifying the various levels of keratoconus and other corneal conditions.
Symptoms of Keratoconus
When the shape of your cornea begins to bulge, it alters your eyesight in two different ways. As the cone shape forms, your normally smooth corneal surface becomes wavy, causing irregular astigmatism. Additionally, as your cornea expands, vision becomes increasingly irregularly shaped. Focusing becomes impossible without eyeglasses or contact lenses. Usually, the problems begin in one eye and develop later in the other eye too.
Typically, a patient’s eyeglass prescription will change often, and it might become impossible to see the 20/20 line, even with the best glasses on. When the cornea is irregular, it becomes difficult to correct the vision with traditional glasses or soft contact lenses.
As the cornea becomes more irregular, it also becomes thinner. In some patients, this can lead to complications, which can include significant scarring.
Altogether, these changes can create the following symptoms:
- Blurred vision
- Streaking of lights
- Halos around bright lights at night; glare
- Sudden change of vision in only one eye
- Objects appear distorted, both near and distant
- Double vision from just one eye
- Triple ghost images
How We Diagnose Keratoconus
Our eye doctors will inspect carefully for signs of keratoconus during your comprehensive eye exam. It’s critical to inform us of any symptoms that you’ve been experiencing. To diagnose the condition, we will use Computerized Corneal Topography to measure the shape of your cornea. This instrument is critical in making the diagnosis of Keratoconus. Corneal Pachymetry, which measures corneal thickness, is also very important for diagnosing Keratoconus and monitoring for progression.