new here. keratoconus and colored contacts?

Saffron · #1 (**permalink**) 01-22-2012, 10:59 PM

Hi, I have moderate kc in my right eye (requires RGP lens) and have a cornea graft in my left that is 2 years old, and ready to start wearing lenses. I get fitted at an eye hospital.

I dream of wearing colored contacts, I know that my base curve will be off the scale compared to what you can buy online.. do soft lenses completely mold to the surface of your eye? For example a really uneven cornea surface, would they still stick or cause damage/discomfort? I really like soloticas, and not looking to buy toric lenses.

Thanks in advance.

Deepurple · #2 (**permalink**) 01-23-2012, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saffron

Hi, I have moderate kc in my right eye (requires RGP lens) and have a cornea graft in my left that is 2 years old, and ready to start wearing lenses. I get fitted at an eye hospital.

I dream of wearing colored contacts, I know that my base curve will be off the scale compared to what you can buy online.. do soft lenses completely mold to the surface of your eye? For example a really uneven cornea surface, would they still stick or cause damage/discomfort? I really like soloticas, and not looking to buy toric lenses.

Thanks in advance.

Welcome to Lens 101. I think you should know that I'm just wild about saffron.

I found a website here that you might find helpful. It's from the University of Indiana website and it's about fitting contact lenses on patients with keratoconus.

http://www.opt.indiana.edu/lowther/html/keratoconus_manage.htm

Here's a highlight to lure you to the website:

Flat fitting lenses with harsh central bearing areas used to be the mainstay of keratoconic fits. This means that the lens was much flatter than the cone, and therefore pressed down on the center of it. Such a lens, with a large diameter, was often comfortable for the patient . . . Some practitioners have felt that such fits held the cone back and actually slowed the progression of the disease.

The disadvantages of such fits is that corneal swelling, fluorescein staining on the apex of the cone (which indicates damage to cells), and central scratching of the cornea can occur.

To counteract this theory, a corneal clearance lens was fit. This lens was made very steep so that it vaulted over the cone to keep from pressing down on it. One problem with this idea is that the lens had to be made so steep to fit over the cone that air bubbles form between the lens and the cornea. These steep lenses can lead to corneal swelling and lens intolerance.

A Compromise Fit

Often the compromise fit for a keratoconic is what is called a "three-point touch" fit. This means that the lens lightly touches the peak of the cone (not the harsh bearing-down of the old style), then a very low vault over the edges of the cone, and lastly a thin band of touching near the edge of the lens. The name "three-point touch" refers to the edge-peak-edge pattern of the lens touching the cornea.