Consejo médico: ¿qué gesto inconsciente daña tus ojos?

Title: Medical Advice: What Unconscious Gesture Damages Your Eyes? Author: Liu Min, Zhuzhou Ai'er Eye Hospital. Reviewer: ZS. Organization: Hunan Med Chat. Profile: Keratoconus affects the cornea and its visual problems are serious. Causes, symptoms, and prevention should be known to protect eye health.

In clinical consultations, some children and adolescents may develop keratoconus due to frequently and prolonged rubbing of their eyes without having received timely professional examination. If the disease progresses, appropriate medical interventions may be required.

Keratoconus is a type of chronic and progressive corneal condition that is more common among children and young adults. Initial symptoms are atypical and often overlooked, which can delay early intervention. Continued development of the condition may lead to thinning of the cornea and abnormalities in its shape, negatively affecting visual quality.

What is keratoconus? Keratoconus is an eye disease primarily characterized by the forward protrusion and deformation of the cornea, giving it a conical appearance. This condition often occurs in teenagers and young adults, potentially causing blurred vision, light sensitivity, and double vision. The exact causes of keratoconus are not fully understood, but genetic and environmental factors may play a role. Treatment options include wearing special contact lenses, corneal cross-linking, or corneal transplant in severe cases.

Keratoconus is a common non-inflammatory, chronic, and progressive localized corneal dilation, mainly characterized by corneal expansion, central or paracentral thinning, and forward protrusion in a conical shape. A lateral observation reveals how the cornea bulges forward, so it is recommended to seek a medical examination when such symptoms appear. The disease process is evidenced by the progressive expansion of the cornea and reduction in its thickness, which can result in high irregular astigmatism, thus affecting vision.

Keratoconus is more commonly diagnosed in youth, predominantly in adolescents. The public awareness of this disease is relatively low, and accurate diagnosis depends on professional equipment and clinical experience, making early identification difficult and potentially resulting in delays in diagnosis. If the disease progresses, appropriate intervention measures must be taken based on the patient's ocular conditions.

Why does keratoconus develop? The exact causes of keratoconus remain unclear, but it is currently believed to be associated with decreased corneal collagen content and abnormal collagen fiber arrangement, leading to reduced mechanical strength of the cornea, resulting in thinning and forward protrusion. Genetic factors, allergies, and other factors may also be related to its onset. Additionally, excessive eye rubbing has been proven to potentially trigger this condition.

Daily Tips: Try to avoid excessive eye rubbing and reduce sleeping in a prone position to decrease pressure on the eyeballs. If frequent eye rubbing is caused by eye diseases such as allergic conjunctivitis or dry eye syndrome, it is important to properly treat the underlying condition.

How to know if you have keratoconus? Experts from the Zhuzhou Ai'er Eye Hospital indicate that some patients may experience acute corneal edema accompanied by a sudden decrease in vision; while in others, the disease progression is relatively mild, with a slight decrease in vision that can easily be mistaken for simple cases of myopia or astigmatism.

The clinical course of keratoconus can be divided into four stages:

1. Incubation period: High difficulty in diagnosis. If keratoconus is diagnosed in one eye and the other eye shows a refractive error, one should be vigilant and closely monitor.

2. Initial stage: Routine examination shows no significant anomalies, only visual assessment indicates varying degrees of myopia and astigmatism. The corneal topography may show a slight decrease in corneal thickness and an increase in the height of the back surface.

3. Progression stage: Vision decrease is quite noticeable, the corrective effects of frame glasses are unsatisfactory, the curvature of the cornea has increased, and there is an evident trend towards significant corneal thinning.

4. Severe stage of the disease: The cornea shows a conical protrusion, the stromal layer thins, and in some cases, ruptures in the stroma may form scars; if there is a rupture of the posterior elastic layer, it may be accompanied by signs of acute corneal edema.

What interventions are available for keratoconus? Interventions for keratoconus include: 1. Regular monitoring: Regular eye examinations to monitor disease progression. 2. Vision correction: Use of glasses or contact lenses to improve vision, rigid gas permeable contact lenses may be considered in the early stages. 3. Corneal cross-linking: Through this surgical method, the corneal strength is increased to slow disease progression. 4. Surgical options: In severe cases, corneal transplantation may be necessary to restore vision. 5. Medication: Use of eye drops to relieve discomfort and control eye inflammation. When selecting intervention measures, it is important to consult a professional ophthalmologist to develop an appropriate treatment plan based on individual circumstances.

The clinic will establish an appropriate intervention plan based on the stage and characteristics of keratoconus progression. In the early stages of the disease, when the condition is stable, vision and visual quality may be improved through optical correction methods. If the disease shows trends of progression, professional interventions may be employed to strengthen the cornea and delay the pathology's advancement. In more severe cases, it will be necessary to improve visual function through ocular repair methods.

Kind reminder: If astigmatism increases significantly in a short period, and vision shows an abnormal decrease, along with the regular optical correction being ineffective, it is recommended to seek a specialized eye institution for examination and evaluation to understand the state of the eyes in a timely manner.