Keratoconus is a degenerative condition that causes your vision to become compromised when your cornea thins out, weakens, and becomes cone-shaped. It affects about one in 2,000 people starting in your teenage years and can continue into your 30s with symptoms ranging from mild to severe. To stop its progression, you should have it treated as soon as you notice problems.

At V.I.P. Laser Eye Center, in Palm Beach Gardens, Stuart, and Port St. Lucie, Florida, we’re a team of keratoconus specialists who can accurately diagnose your condition and treat it with success. You should schedule an appointment with us if you have any issues with your vision.

Symptoms of keratoconus

Your symptoms can happen in one or both of your eyes. Here’s what you want to pay attention to:

• Being sensitive to light
• Seeing wavy or bent lines
• Swelling and redness
• Having blurred vision

Keratoconus develops in stages with its progression lasting 10-20 years. In the beginning, you might notice visual blurriness and pain in your eyes when exposed to the sun or bright light. As keratoconus continues to develop, or as your cornea becomes thinner, the condition of your eyesight can get worse.

As your keratoconus advances, you can experience an irregular astigmatism, which leads to severe vision distortion, nearsightedness, and possible loss of your vision. That’s why it’s imperative that you get treatment.

Treatment for keratoconus

When you come in to see us, we give you a thorough and comprehensive exam to understand the condition of your eyesight. If you’re diagnosed with keratoconus, we develop your personalized treatment plan to correct the severity of your disorder.

Treatment options include:

Prescription glasses or contacts

In the early stages of keratoconus, we can manage your condition with prescription glasses or soft contacts. If your condition progresses, we may recommend fitting you for rigid gas permeable contact lenses that allow proper interaction between your eyes and oxygen to promote your eye health.

Corneal cross-linking

This innovative, FDA-approved treatment is also called collagen cross-linking. It’s minimally invasive, only requiring the use of eyedrops containing riboflavin (vitamin B2), and then exposing your cornea to ultraviolet light. The procedure stiffens and strengthens your cornea.

Intracorneal ring segment implantation

For this minimally invasive procedure, we place two rings on the outside of your cornea to flatten it out, allowing light to focus on your retina accurately. This treatment is an alternative if you’re still unable to see clearly with proper eyewear and choose to opt out of getting a cornea transplant.

Cornea transplant

If you have a severe case of keratoconus, you may need a surgical cornea transplant, which can completely restore your vision.

Your eyesight can be directly related to your quality of life. Don’t let issues with your eyesight go by the wayside. Our team of professionals can help.

Contact us today for an appointment at one of our three locations nearest you.