Farsightedness / Hyperopia

An introduction to farsightedness

A COMMON VISION PROBLEM THAT HINDERS YOUR ABILITY TO FOCUS LIGHT CORRECTLY

Farsightedness (the medical term is hyperopia) occurs when your eyeball is slightly shorter, or your cornea is flatter than required for clear vision.

Farsighted people can clearly see things that are far away (people’s faces in the distance), but find things that are close-up blurry (the words on your mobile’s screen).

In contrast, nearsightedness (the medical term is myopia) means that light focuses behind the retina, and close objects can appear blurry.

In younger people, many farsighted eyes can self-focus by utilising the ‘zoom’ intended for reading to compensate for the blurring. As the eye ages, however, this ‘zoom’ gets weaker, so near vision becomes blurred.

Later, distance vision becomes blurred as well. That means that farsighted people often require reading glasses before their 40s, and then require both reading and distance glasses (or bifocals) from their 40s or 50s and onwards.

As with nearsightedness, laser eye surgery can correct farsightedness by changing the shape of the cornea. When we reshape the cornea, we can match the cornea’s focusing power to the length of the eye.

The image below illustrates where the light focuses in normal vision and in a farsighted eye.

Farsightedness symptoms and lifestyle impacts

MANY SYMPTOMS OF FARSIGHTEDNESS CAN RESULT IN EYE STRAIN

If you are farsighted, your eyes have trouble seeing objects up close and need to work harder to do so. This effort causes eyestrain. Sometimes, your symptoms will be a result of the farsightedness and the eye strain that it induces.

Farsightedness symptoms include:

• Blurry vision for words or objects up close
• Squinting to see better
• An aching or burning sensation around your eyes
• A headache after reading or other tasks that require you to focus on something close

Because so much of what we do is up close, you may find you depend on glasses for nearly everything.

Farsightedness causes

FARSIGHTEDNESS IS MAINLY DUE TO GENETIC FACTORS

If you have a flat cornea you will be farsighted. If your eyeball is shorter than normal, you will be farsighted. Both conditions cause light to focus beyond your retina instead of on your retina.

Farsightedness can be hereditary, so you’re more likely to be farsighted if your parents were farsighted.

Farsightedness examination in New York

WE CAN DETERMINE IF LASIK CAN CORRECT YOUR FARSIGHTEDNESS

Despite it being obvious they need glasses or contact lenses, many people don’t know whether they are farsighted or nearsighted. An eye doctor or eye surgeon can conduct an eye examination to determine if you’re farsighted.

First, the eye doctor or surgeon will check as you read letters on an eye chart simulating different distances.

Then, the eye doctor or surgeon will ask you to look through a variety of lenses to correct your vision, progressively making close objects appear more clearly.

Farsightedness/Hyperopia treatment in New York

THIS LIFE-CHANGING TREATMENT IS ONLY SUITABLE FOR THE RIGHT PERSON

The most popular way to correct the effects of farsightedness is to wear prescription eyeglasses or contact lenses. The corrective lenses refract (bend) the light so that it focuses more directly on your retina, instead of beyond it.

If you find glasses or contact lenses inconvenient, or if you’re concerned about the harmful effects of wearing contact lenses over a prolonged period of time, then LASIK eye surgery may be a good solution for you.

LASIK eye surgery involves using a cold laser to reshape the curvature of your cornea so that you don’t have farsightedness anymore. The procedure is painless, safe and effective. The results are permanent.

If astigmatism accompanies your farsightedness, a laser eye surgeon can correct this other refractive error at the same time as they fix your farsightedness.

If reducing your dependency on glasses or contact lenses interests you, you can learn more about LASIK or contact us.