Copyright 2007 www.eyes-and-vision.com
Farsightedness Or Hyperopia: What is it?
Symptoms You May Experience:
Examination: What Your Eye Doctor Will Look For:
What You Can Do:
When To Call Your M.D.:
Treatment:
Prognosis: Will I See Better?
Many
infants are born farsighted but lose their farsightedness by the
teenage years. Children and young adults with mild or moderate
hyperopia are often able to see clearly because their natural lense can
change its shape, or accommodate, to focus on near objects. As
farsighted people get older, however, their ability to accommodate
declines as the lens becomes less flexible. Eventually, glasses
or contact lenses may be required to correct their farsightedness.
In adults,
the vision is blurred at near but may be clearer at distance. You
may notice eyestrain or fatigue, especially when reading. A
farsighted child who is not wearing glasses or contact lenses may not
notice any difficulty seeing up close because of accommodation, but in
some farsighted children, eye crossing (strabismus) may occur.
The eye
doctor will test your vision and your need for glasses
(refraction). In children, the pupils may be dilated to relax
accommodation before refraction is performed. Farsightedness is
rarely diagnosed in school vision screenings, which typically only test
the ability to see distant objects.
There is no proven way to prevent farsightedness from developing. You should be aware of its symptoms so if farsightedness develops, you can be examined by an eye doctor.
If you notice blurry vision close up but not at a distance, eye strain, or eye fatigue, you should call your eye doctor. Children should have an eye exam at least once by the age of six to diagnose any farsightedness or other eye problems.
Treating farsightedness depends on several factors,
including your age and daily activities. Young patients may or
may not require glasses or contact lenses, depending on their ability
to compensate for their farsightedness with accommodation. Older
patients often benefit from glasses or contacts, which may only be
necessary for reading if their farsightedness is mild. Some
farsighted adults may benefit from refractive surgery (laser eye
surgery) as another treatment option.
Farsightedness, or hyperopia, is a condition in which distant objects are usually seen clearly but close objects are blurred.
Just as a camera uses lenses to properly focus light on film, the human
eye uses the cornea and the lens to focus images on the retina.
In farsightedness, the image that falls on the retina is blurred
because the light entering the eye is focused behind the retina instead
of directly on it. This condition is caused by a cornea that is flatter than normal, a lens in the eye that is not strong enough, or an eyeball that is shorter than average. Approximately 25% of the general population is farsighted.
