Keratoconus

The first symptoms usually appear during the teenage years or early adulthood. They include:

– High astigmatism,
– Gradually worsening blurred vision,
– Problems with night vision,
– Rapid changes in diopters and astigmatism,
– Distorted vision, image duplication (e.g., double outlines of objects)

The exact cause is not fully known, but it is believed to result from a combination of genetic, environmental, and hormonal factors. Possible causes include:

• Genetic predisposition (it tends to run in families),

• Excessive eye rubbing (may accelerate progression),

• Hormonal changes (e.g., during puberty).

Treatment depends on the stage of the disease, and therefore ranges gradually from conservative approaches to surgical interventions and transplantation:

• Glasses and contact lenses – in the early stages, they can correct vision.

• Hybrid and scleral lenses – special contact lenses that can reshape the irregular cornea or its bulge, thus improving the patient’s vision. These are effective in more advanced stages.

• Procedures such as CXL (corneal cross-linking) – a procedure that strengthens the cornea and slows disease progression, or implantation of corneal rings (ICRS) – small rings inserted into the cornea that help improve its shape.

• Corneal transplant – in severe cases, when other methods no longer help, a partial or full corneal transplant is performed.

Early diagnosis is crucial, as some methods can prevent the disease from worsening.