Although a “gene for keratoconus” (or a gene that at lease predisposes people to develop keratoconus) has not yet been found, the disease is likely to occur in a person who has family members who also have the disease.
It is therefore very important to make sure that if one family member has keratoconus, all family members are screened for the disease.
A peripheral keratoconus can go undetected for years – the disease can lay relatively dormant for years. However, a keratoconus can become active at any time and this will affect people’s vision.
Again and again, we examine the children of our adult keratoconus patients and often find early signs of keratoconus—even though these kids aren’t wearing glasses and still have good vision. In these cases, regular monitoring and early cross-linking are key to preserving their eyesight for the future.
If keratoconus is discovered in children, it should be treated directly with CXL. Cross-linking in children and adolescents has been established for years and we have one of the longest experiences worldwide. So if we find the disease in children, we will not hesitate to treat them.
A 42-year old mother was asked to bring her 14-year old son in for screening. The son’s uncorrected vision was still 100%, but a beginning peripheral keratoconus was detected.
Mother with known keratoconus.
Son with keratoconus detected during screening.
A 56-year-old family man with bilateral keratoconus. His three children do not wear glasses and have good eyesight (according to their parents). During the screening, the 17-year-old son showed a previously undiscovered grade I keratoconus in the left eye. The right eye was suspicious, but not yet obviously ill.
Father
Son
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