“My cylindrical number is changing every six months. What could be the cause for this?”
I am 27 years old and I have glasses for the last 2 years. Before my glasses, my vision was absolutely fine. However, now my cylindrical number has been increasing every six months. Could this be a serious issue?
10 Answers
Shilpi Pradhan
Ophthalmologist
Thanks for your question. If you rub your eyes, please stop. Changing astigmatism (cylindrical number), can mean something as simple as dry eye disease or something as serious as keratoconus. You need an evaluation to assess the proper cause and treatment needed.
The cylinder number is an indicator of the amount of astigmatism. If the cylinder number is increasing every 6 months, this could be an early indicator of a corneal "warpage" disorder, such as keratoconus. Keratoconus can become progressively worse over time, particularly in the higher risk age group ranging from late teens to 40s. As it progresses, the vision may become more distorted and possibly not correctable without a rigid contact lens or even surgery.
I would recommend you seek a consultation from an ophthalmologist who specializes in the cornea, and in particular in the evaluation and treatment of keratoconus. If you do have keratoconus, there are treatments available which can halt the progression of the condition. Also, avoid rubbing the eyes as this can contribute to a "weakening" in the cornea.
Omar E. Awad, MD, FACS
I would recommend you seek a consultation from an ophthalmologist who specializes in the cornea, and in particular in the evaluation and treatment of keratoconus. If you do have keratoconus, there are treatments available which can halt the progression of the condition. Also, avoid rubbing the eyes as this can contribute to a "weakening" in the cornea.
Omar E. Awad, MD, FACS
The rapidly changing cylinder is probably caused by corneal pathology. The most common cause is anterior basement membrane dystrophy. The other possibility is progressive keratoconus.
See your eye doctor soon. It may be a corneal condition called "keratoconus"
Yes. This could be the first sign of keratoconus. We are conducting a trial at University of Missouri looking at high dose (400mg) daily riboflavin capsule and 15 min of briskly walking outside facing the sunlight to treat early keratoconus and stabilize the cylinder. So far treatments have been very successful in our 6 month study
You may have Keratoconus, which is too much curve on your cornea. That might get stable with collagen cross linking. Have your cornea checked by a cornea specialist.
The amount of cylinder, otherwise known as astigmatism, should be pretty steady for a 27-year-old person. If the numbers are changing significantly, it is usually an indication of corneal disease. A good cornea specialist can help determine what might be the cause
It depends on the amount of cylinder. If it is high, and you are near-sighted, you might have keratoconus. An ophthalmologist who is subspecialized in cornea diseases is the expert in these matters.
It may be something simple, related to dry eyes or something else like eye rubbing. However, it also may be a sign of a weakness of the corneal tissue - a problem called keratoconus. Hopefully, it's not anything serious, however, you should see an ophthalmologist soon, to assess what is happening and get the appropriate treatment, so your vision stabilizes.
It's possible. Check for keratoconus which is associated with frequent changes in cylinder power of the eye.
