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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffKeratoconus occurs when your cornea — the clear, dome-shaped surface of your eye — thins out, gradually producing a cone-shaped bulge in the front of your eye. A cone-shaped cornea causes blurred vision and may cause increased sensitivity to light and glare, as well as headaches from eyestrain. Keratoconus usually affects both eyes and typically begins during puberty or late teens, and then progresses over about 10 years.
In the early stages of keratoconus, the vision problems caused by the distorted cornea can be corrected effectively with glasses or soft contact lenses. As keratoconus progresses, you may have to be fitted with special rigid gas permeable contact lenses. Advanced keratoconus may require surgery.
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- Tan DTH, et al. Current treatment options for corneal ectasia. Current Opinion in Ophthalmology. 2007;18:284-289.
- Tan BU, et al. New surgical approaches to the management of keratoconus and post-LASIK ectasia. Transactions of the American Ophthalmologic Society. 2006;104:212-221.
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- Crosby MB, et al. Management of keratoconus. Contemporary Ophthalmology. 2007;6(9):1-8.
- Krachmer JH. Eye rubbing can cause keratoconus (comment). Cornea. 2004;23(6)539-540.
