The main reason Keratoconus contacts hurt, itch, and are uncomfortable is basically because they don’t fit right. But to understand why, first you have to understand how Keratoconus affects your eyes. Keratoconus causes the cornea to slowly change from a dome shape into a cone shape. This change in shape means that the cornea starts to stick or protrude out rather than remain smooth. And on top of that, the cornea can be shaped differently in any direction.
Keratoconus Lenses
A regular contact lens is perfectly symmetrical with a shallow curve. It’s designed for the eyelid to easily glide over the lens so that while wearing them, you don’t even notice they are there. Imagine putting that smooth, hard contact lens on an oddly shaped, Keratoconus cornea. Can you imagine how it would just be a bad fit?
Why Keratoconus Contacts Hurt, Itch, and are Uncomfortable
That bad fit causes the edge of one side to rise up a bit more and interfere with the eyelid. Your eye gets itchy and irritated as a result which causes you to scratch or rub your eye…and eye rubbing only makes the Keratoconus worse. Then your eyes begin to tear, making you want to wipe or rub your eyes even more.
Even if you had a good fitting contact lens for your Keratoconus at the start, it is very possible that the lenses don’t fit very well anymore. That’s because Keratoconus is a progressive disease where your eyes will continue to change unless you have a treatment done that stops the progression. Often times this is the main reason Keratoconus contacts hurt, itch, and are uncomfortable.
Corneal Cross-Linking
If your Keratoconus contacts hurt, itch, and are uncomfortable, then you should look into corneal cross-linking. This procedure can help repair your corneas and is nearly 100% effective at preventing your Keratoconus from getting worse. It also helps improve vision in some patients by flattening out the central part of the corneas.
How Crosslinking Works
Your doctor puts a solution in your eyes and then applies a special light therapy. The light therapy helps the collagen fibers in your corneas link together which strengthens your cornea. It is a quick, minimally invasive outpatient procedure, done in the doctor’s office, that is virtually painless. Corneal Cross Linking is very effective, and the best part is you go home the same day. If you haven’t looked into corneal cross linking yet, call Dr. Leonard to see if it could work for you.
Custom Made Contacts
If your lenses used to fit well, but now your Keratoconus contacts hurt, itch, and are uncomfortable, it is likely due to a change in your corneal shape. In order for Keratoconus contacts to fit well, it needs to be custom made for each individual cornea. That means a different lens for each of your eyes. Most importantly, your lenses need to be made as precisely as possible. Most Optometrists today use machines that don’t provide enough information about your eye shape to the contact lens manufacturer, so they are forced to make educated guesses about some of your corneas’ actual shape.
Custom Fit Keratoconus Lenses
Dr. Leonard is one of the few Optometrists in the country with an Eaglet Eye profiler, a machine that allows him to design a custom contact lens that will precisely fit the contours of your eye. The Eaglet Eye profiler measures 300,000 points on the eye which includes 100% of your cornea and most of the surrounding sclera (the whites of your eyes). This data is sent directly to the contact lens manufacturer to create a perfectly fitting Scleral contact lens.
Scleral Contact Solutions
It’s difficult to explain the difference, so we’ll let one of our recent Keratoconus patients explain it for you. Nick had his new Scleral Contact Lenses designed by Dr. Leonard using the Eaglet Eye Profiler. See why Nick says, after finally being able to see clearly with Keratoconus, that “This is going to change my life for sure!” Watch the quick video here.
Keratoconus Treatment Specialist
If your Keratoconus contacts hurt, itch, and are uncomfortable, calling Dr. Leonard is the next step for relief. Keratoconus can require specialized care with state of the art equipment. That’s why patients with Keratoconus all over the USA call Dr. Barry Leonard. Dr. Leonard is a Keratoconus doctor who not only treats Keratoconus, but is actually a Keratoconus patient himself, so he knows exactly what you are going through. Call Dr. Leonard’s office now at 818-891-6711. You can also make an appointment online.
