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World Keratoconus Day is marked on November 10th annually around the world and is a day dedicated to raising awareness on signs, symptoms, and management of the condition, Keratoconus.

Keratoconus Barbados (KCB) is a charity established to raise awareness and resources, and encourage research about the condition in Barbados and the wider Caribbean. Broken down the word is “kerato” referring to the cornea, and “conus”, meaning cone-like.  The latter describes the way the front of the eye can start to bulge.

The local charity focuses on patient-centered care by helping persons, especially parents, navigate how to get early diagnosis and treatment.  A simple definition found on the website of the National Keratoconus Foundation for Keratoconus, often abbreviated to “KC”, “is a non-inflammatory eye condition in which the normally round dome-shaped cornea progressively thins causing a cone-like bulge to develop. This results in significant visual impairment.”

Persons can find a detailed presentation on the condition on the KC Barbados YouTube channel delivered by Dr. Nigel Barker Corneal Specialist here in Barbados.

Founder and Chairman of the management committee Roseanne Myers noted ” As we again bring this matter to public attention, we are conscious of the need to do more than we have done in the past two years. As we move past the pandemic period, we again want to mobilize our patient advocates, and private sector partners to raise awareness and make treatment more accessible.

“Keratoconus is a non-inflammatory eye condition in which the normally round dome-shaped cornea progressively thins causing a cone-like bulge to develop. This results in significant visual impairment.”

“We urge public sector partners to improve access to diagnosis and treatment for those in our society who are financially challenged. We are hearing daily from vision care professionals that more and more primary school children are presenting with acute astigmatism and suspected keratoconus, so it is a cause for great concern. National screening and research are required to understand the full extent of the condition but anecdotally the numbers seem to have grown.  One child whose development is stunted due to impaired vision and lack of money to address such is one too many, so we are committed to ramping up efforts.”

Parents and teachers need to be vigilant and look for the signs of keratoconus in the early stages as the condition progresses and deterioration continues if not addressed.  Children may complain of blurred or cloudy vision; are sensitive to light and see halos around the lightbulb, are always squinting; are complaining that the glasses seem not to be helping them, are not seeing the whiteboard well though sitting very close to it due to the glare from it. and may appear depressed. 

Keratoconus Barbados (KCB).

KCB is encouraging parents to seek professional help. The school eye clinic at the Winston Scott Polyclinic is a free option to get a thorough vision screen and parents can make an appointment for their charges to be seen. A referral to have the diagnosis made if suspicion of KC is correct can be done at the Queen Elisabeth Hospital eye clinic or privately by the Corneal Specialist Dr. Nigel Barker. Special scleral contact lenses, corneal collagen cross-linking, or corneal transplants are all part of the management of the condition depending on the severity of the vision impairment.

Early detection means that there is an opportunity for the progression and deterioration to be halted. One simple thing that we can all do, is to stop rubbing our eyes. Children, especially those with allergies, constantly rub their eyes vigorously and this can be damaging to the cornea especially if it is already thin, and cause the condition to worsen. Parents need to ensure they treat the cause of the allergy and help to soothe the eyes.  

The aim of Keratoconus Barbados is to first let all persons with the condition know that they are not alone and invite them to join us to help others now being diagnosed, deal with it and point them to where professional care can be sought.  We invite persons to email us at kcbarbados@gmail.com or follow Keratoconus Barbados on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, to assist in the effort and with specific concerns.

Keratoconus Barbados

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