Keratoconus: diagnosis and cure | Occhiali

cheratocono Keratoconus is defined as a corneal distrophy that leads to a progressive thinning and reductionn of cornea. The keratoconus characteristic is the particular cornea shape, that becomes conical, from aspherical, and the bending becomes irregular, while it was regular, creating a such refractive variation to cause a remarkable drop of visus because it induces irregular astigmatism and shortsightedness.

The incidence on population is of 0.06%, so it means that 1 person on 2.000 can soffer from a symptomatic corneal variation.In the most of cases te distortion is not painful (unless serious complication do not appear) and it affects both the eyes , but, at times, it can happen only to one eye, this is the case in which it will be appropriate to check up periodically the contralateral eye .

Keratoconus easily appears in young age and it affects above all people of male sex.

How can we notice it?

The firs symptoms, that can induce to a keratoconus suspect, are a vision drop with our glasses linked to an astigmatism increase.

The best way to evaluate the keratoconus presence is to make a corneal topography, describing shape and dioptric power.

Which are the solutions?

A first approach to try to reconstruct a corneal surphace opticaplly smooth is through contact lenses . The reduction of optical irregularity and asymmetry it happens because the tear film situated between ephitelium and contact lens, compensates a lot of corneal irregularities, allowing a significant improving of visual quality, through a better correction of myopic defect and those astigmatic, but, above all, of the irregular element of astigmatism, typical of keratoconus.

A more significant and persistent solution is though surgery . Nowadays there is a non- invasive procedure for keratoconus cure: the corneal Cross Linking.

It is about a surgery that lasts about one hour and during which a Vitamin b2 solution is fixed on cornea surphace, after the removing of first ephitelial surphace layer, by a ultraviolet light, aimed to reconsolidate the lamellar tissues reduced by the distortion typical of this pathology.

This method tends to reduce the possibility of progression of pathology, making the surphace more regular and improving the possibility of a comfortable wear of contact lenses.