By Gary Heiting, OD

Keratoconus is an eye disease that may or may not cause loss of visual acuity that is severe enough to be considered a disability. In other words, keratoconus itself is not a disability, but vision loss caused by keratoconus may be severe enough to qualify as a disability.

In the United States, if a person's best-corrected visual acuity in both eyes is 20/200 or worse — whether caused by keratoconus or some other condition — that person is considered legally blind and may qualify for disability benefits.

Thankfully, in most cases, treatments such as scleral contact lenses and/or corneal cross-linking can prevent even advanced keratoconus from causing this level of severe vision loss.

If you have significant vision loss from keratoconus, visit a keratoconus specialist to determine if one of these new treatment options (or possibly a cornea transplant) can improve your visual acuity and eliminate any potential disability from keratoconus.

Page published on Thursday, January 10, 2019