Keratoconus in Haslet, TX
Are you experiencing blurred or distorted vision? Or perhaps you’re often dealing with itchy eyes and constant sensitivity to light? If so, you could be suffering from keratoconus, a disease of the cornea that slowly degrades your vision. Fortunately, you can count on your eye doctor at Joy Family Eye Care to accurately diagnose this condition and help you manage it through the years. All you have to do is call for an appointment, and we’ll get you in right away.
What is Keratoconus?
Occurring most often between ages 10 and 25, keratoconus causes vision to get progressively worse across a 10-year period. During that time, your cornea tissues thin out, resulting in your eye becoming cone-shaped.
This condition can affect just one or both of your eyes — and there is no cure besides a corneal transplant. It is possible to effectively manage the condition, however, by seeking help from your eye doctor in Haslet TX.
How Eye Doctors Diagnose Keratoconus
Since keratoconus often starts out slow, your eye doctor will usually notice the changes first if you come in for regular vision exams. The first sign of a problem is a decline in your visual acuity, which is detected as you read the vision charts.
Since vision declines can occur due to a wide variety of reasons, your eye doctor will need to investigate the problem further by:
Performing a Slit-Lamp Exam
The slit-lamp exam allows your Haslet TX eye doctor to fully assess the shape and health of your cornea. Using the specialized microscope, they can check for signs that it’s growing thinner or becoming more cone-shaped.
Taking Keratometry Measurements
For an even more detailed look at the shape of your cornea, your eye doctor will take keratometry measurements. This diagnostic procedure lets them look at the surface of the cornea for irregularities and determine if it’s growing out of the natural shape.
Completing Digital Corneal Mapping
Eye doctors can take an even closer look at the thickness of your cornea and its overall shape with digital corneal mapping. This test allows for the earliest detection of keratoconus by providing a direct look at the topography of your cornea.
If your eye doctor detects keratoconus, they can help you manage the condition and slow the decline of your vision. Depending on the stage of the disease, you may have many treatment options to consider, such as corneal crosslinking, corneal inserts, and topography-guided conductive keratoplasty. You can also simply maintain great vision with custom soft contact lenses, gas-permeable contact lenses, or other vision correction solutions.
Need Haslet TX Eye Care for Keratoconus?
If you’d like to get Haslet TX eye care for keratoconus, call 817-439-5400 to speak to our team at Joy Family Eye Care. During that call, we will help you find the best time to come down to our vision center and get an exam done. We look forward to helping you maintain great vision and eye health for life, so please call today to get started.