Keratoconus, a disease affecting vision, needs to be caught early

Keratoconus, a disease affecting vision, needs to be caught early

2026-03-25

Many people are nearsighted, but if you find that your myopia or astigmatism is getting worse, that your glasses are no longer effective or you experience double vision, beware! You may be having symptoms of Keratoconus. If you delay in getting treatment, it can lead to irreversible damage to your vision. Let’s find out more.

Ms Chang, a sprinter, had a history of allergies but did not have symptoms such as coughing or sneezing. She’d unconsciously rub her eyes. Because she often felt like she had a foreign body in her eye and even experienced vision abnormalities, she got a check up and was diagnosed with Keratoconus.

Ms Chang
Keratoconus sufferer
When I was in high school, I found that my astigmatism was especially severe. By the second examination, my astigmatism was over 800 degrees. Last June, I started to feel that my eyes were red and itchy. Actually, I have never realized that I rub my eyes, but I went to see an ophthalmologist and they said that I might have a slight allergy that was causing me to rub them.

Keratoconus is related to factors such as constitution, genetics, and prolonged eye rubbing. It is estimated that there are as many as 40,000 people in Taiwan with the disease. Because symptoms often appear between adolescence and age 30, and are frequently mistaken for worsening myopia or astigmatism in the early stages, most people only discover the condition when their vision has severely deteriorated, at which point irreversible damage has already occurred.

Sun Chi-chin
Keelung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital
If your astigmatism or myopia is constantly worsening and cannot be corrected with lenses within a short period, you should seek help, as this usually indicates a problem with your cornea. We have found that about 90% of clinical cases are related to allergies, so you need to be more vigilant.

Fortunately Ms Chang received a course of treatment involving new technology and her vision has improved significantly. This surgery is considered to be a major advancement in Taiwanese medical circles. Doctors also remind high-risk groups to take good care of their corneas, including avoiding rubbing them, avoiding over use of the eyes, and most important, getting regular checkups to effectively protect their vision.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
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#Keratoconus #Visionproblems #Taiwanophthalmology

23歲女角膜變形視力剩0.25 全台首例手術免角膜移植

2026-03-25

很多人都近視，但如果發現度數加深、散光加重，配戴眼鏡也沒用，甚至出現重影現象，小心了~這可能是"圓錐角膜"症狀，太晚就醫，視力可能受到不可逆轉的損害，嚴重者還需角膜移植。一名年僅23歲的短跑運動員患者，原本矯正後視力也只剩0.25，透過手術重拾清晰視力。

短跑運動員張小姐本身有過敏狀況，沒有咳嗽打噴嚏等症狀，但會不自覺揉眼睛，由於時常感覺到眼睛有異物感，甚至視力出現異常，檢查才發現罹患了"圓錐角膜"。

[[圓錐角膜患者張小姐]]
“我在高中的時候，就已經發現我的散光比較特別嚴重，第二次(檢查)的時候，我的散光已經到800多度。去年的6月的時候我就覺得眼睛，會開始有紅，然後癢的問題。其實我到現在都沒有發現自己會揉眼睛的，但我有去看眼科，是說我好像有一點過敏，所以過敏造成揉眼睛。”

圓錐角膜與體質、遺傳、長期揉眼等因素有關，台灣估計高達4萬名患者，由於症狀多在青春期至30歲間發病，且初期常被誤認為近視或散光加深，多數人直到視力嚴重惡化才發現，已經造成無法逆轉的損害。

[[基隆長庚醫院副院長孫啟欽]]
“你本身你的散光或近視不斷的加深，而且短期間之內而且沒有辦法用鏡片來矯正的時候，你就要去尋求協助，因為這時候通常可能是眼睛角膜出了問题。我們發現臨床上大概有90%都跟過敏有關，所以你就必須要更提高警覺”

好在幸運接受新技術療程，張小姐目前視力狀況明顯好轉。這項手術也是台灣醫療的一大進步，醫師也提醒高風險族群，平時就得好好照顧角膜，包含不揉、不過度使用眼睛、最重要的是得定期追蹤，才能有效保護視力健康。

更多新聞內容，請鎖定：
民視台灣台（152頻道）週一至週五晚上9:30
民視新聞台（53頻道）週二至週六凌晨1:00

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Two years ago, plant lover Tu Sung-i from Tainan created his own business selling staghorn ferns that he learned to cultivate entirely on his own. In a greenhouse he built himself, he has crossbred ferns to produce over 100 different varieties. He’s participated in regional plant expos many times as well as the Taiwan International Platycerium Competition, drawing attention from international buyers. He now sells the ferns to Japan, after successfully turning his passion into a career.

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