Keratoconus filters

Ways to filter out too much light

Filters can help people with keratoconus to be and stay active both indoors and outdoors. Vision loss isn’t the only symptom people with keratoconus experience. Also great photosensitivity or photophobia is what can hinder people with this corneal condition. The sensitivity to sunlight may lead people with keratoconus to avoid outdoor activities. But the great light sensitivity can also be very annoying indoors. Keratoconus filters can help living, working and relaxing for keratoconus patients to do more. Below you can read which keratoconus filters are (possible) available.

Workplace Lighting and Keratoconus

If someone with keratoconus suffers from photophobia and sitting in front of the computer for a long time, this can lead to more pain in the eyes due to the light sensitivity. This light sensitivity often leads to fatigue. The light sensitivity is often not experienced as the problem, but the fatigue is. If your job or education requires you to read from a computer screen or mobile device for hours on a daily basis, this can also be very inconvenient for you.

How to filter light?

Below you can see how adjustments can be made in the workplace to filter out excess light:

• In a room with several workplaces, someone with keratoconus will benefit most from a workplace with walls from floor to ceiling all around. For example, the fluorescent light from the room cannot reach the employee’s workplace
• Filters in fluorescent lighting fixtures can greatly reduce the negative effects of lighting
• Work as much as possible in your own environment (home) where you can regulate the amount of light yourself

Which keratoconus filters are there?

For keratoconus patients with photophobia, wearing sunglasses on a sunny day while driving is critical to safe driving. Even if you wear contact lenses or glasses to correct your vision, light sensitivity and corneal pain can make driving difficult. Driving at night can be especially problematic for those with keratoconus and photophobia, as the headlights of oncoming traffic can be temporarily blinding. If you have keratoconus, it’s important to know your limitations and adjust your lifestyle accordingly – especially when it comes to driving. Use – if possible – one of the following keratoconus filters:

• Polarized sunglasses: Whether or not combined with UV protection, polarized sunglasses can protect your eyes from harsh UV rays as well as reflected light rays that cause glare
• Polarized Lenses: A polarized lens blocks intense reflected light that causes glare, improving overall vision for a comfortable driving experience. But if the light intensity is already low, polarized lenses are not a good option.

Special night glasses

One of the best keratoconus filters for the dark is probably the night vision goggles. Especially if you have trouble distinguishing details in the dark. This way you can no longer see the lines on the road, especially in rainy weather. Curbs and posts are also more difficult to see. At the Keratoconus Center in the Netherlands we test the effect of night glasses as standard. We offer these night glasses for € 15,- (including shipping). The night glasses have polarized and photochromic plastic lenses.