About 6 or 7 years ago, I was diagnosed with a disease called Kerataconus. Basically it is a progressive distortion of my corneas. Not really the end of the world. It is treated by wearing rigid contacts. The problem is, I had to give up riding motorcycles because of it. Even with a full face helmet on, there was enough turbulence to dislodge one or both contacts, which would leave me pretty much blind. Motorcycles were a passion for me and this is extremely frustrating not being able to ride. I was just curious if anyone else here has it and knows of any new treatments? I would like to be able to ride again some day.

 

I am thinking about selling the Panoptx brand of sunglasses in my office, for my severe dry eye patients. Understand that I have no experience with them other than what I have read. They claim to block out 100% of wind with certain models. Look at their motorcycle line. You should check with your Doctor to see what he thinks about them and if they might help enough, with or without a full face helmet on. I would not buy them online, as you need to try them on to get the best fit, and you might need to exchange them for a different model to get a good seal. Does you Doctor consider your visual acuity with the rigid gas perms to be good enough for motorcycle riding? Does he consider the fit of the lens to be stable enough for such a high risk activity. If you haven't already, you need to discuss this with him. There are some other options out there, other than the rigid lenses, but as usual there are risk involved. Talk to your Doctor, and if he is not a corneal specialist, (he doesn't have to be to treat keratoconus with rigid lenses) you could ask for a referral to a good one so he can evaluate you and discuss your options. Ask a lot of questions and get references, success rates, second opinons, etc. http://www.panoptx.com/

 

I've worn rigid contacts for the past 30 years and for a few years rode motorcycles every day and never dislodged a contact.

I did need to always wear a full face helmet though.

David

 

RGP fit for KCN is different. It can be quite difficult.
without knowing more about the corneal keratometry measurements, it's premature to state if RGP can be fitted.
I suggest the OP see a corneal specialist and see a contact lens specialist who specializes in difficult RGP fit. There's this new thing where you can have a RGP and soft CTL fit - you might want to try that.

 

Panoptix is one of several brands that'd keep wind out of your eyes. I use Wiley-X SG-1's. Oh, and I MIGHT have kerataconus. A laser surgery specialist would not do that correction on my eyes because of too much contour, an indicator of that condition. But my eyes have been very stable in prescription? Who knows. I need to see a specialist.

 

Go to an Ophthalmologist. Before I was diagnosed, I thought I just had a simple case of far-sightedness but when the doctor had me do the Phoropter (the machine with all the different lenses) she was unable to get a refraction. I could sense her getting a little worried which really freaked me out. It wasn

 

Uh, wear a goggle over your eyes so you don't have the wind blowing on your contacts/corneas?

 

I wish it were that simple. I tried the Panoptx. While they do help with the wind, the thickness of the goggles plus the thickness of the helmet around the face makes it difficult to see oncoming traffic while at a stop coming from the left or the right. It's a little hard to explain but when I turn my head really far to the left along with my eyes, a contacts will sometimes pop out, almost as if there is interference between my contacts and the corner of the eyelid.

 

yeah i went in for PRK and was turned down for exactly the same reason. i also have a stable prescription (over 10 years now)...but that probably has nothing to do with it. damn i really wish i could've gotten laser surgery!

OP good luck in your search. i'm guessing you have problems driving with the top down on the highway then? is it so bad that you can't drive with the windows down too or is it just on a bike?