Hyperopia Farsightedness

It is a refractive disorder or visual problem in which the individual can see faraway objects clearly, but nearby objects appear blurry. The condition sometimes is known as hypermetropia. When they are unable to see nearby object clearly, they will have difficulty reading a book and performing certain movements and fine actions with their hands.



Farsightedness is mostly present at birth, and can be caused by a genetical disorder inherited from parents to their offspring.

What happens inside the eyes of a person with farsightedness is that the light rays goes through the eye, but focus on the back of the eye, behind the retina when cornea has a less pronounced curvature. Thus, hyperopia is the reverse of myopia.

Common signs and symptoms include:

• Blurry vision of nearby objects
• Squinting of the eyes to see a clearer image
• Eyestrain, burning eyes, and aching in the eyes
• Eye discomfort
• Headache after writing, reading, or doing computer work
• Difficulty seeing with both eyes (poor binocular vision)

This condition varies from one person to another, and we can identify hypermetropia by examining the patient, considering his symptoms, and performing an eye examination.

Causes of hyperopia are often very difficult to trace in a given patient. Most of them do not know the exact cause.

Physiologically, the causes are one of three or a combination:

• A short eyeball
• A flat cornea or one with abnormal shape
• Low convergence power due to ciliary muscle weakness



Statistically, 14 millions of Americans of age 40 and older are hyperopic. In some cases, farsightedness can be caused by tumors, diabetes, and underdevelopment of the macula, which is a small but important area of the retina.

When treating patients with hyperopia, the main goal is to see nearby objects more clearly. Another aim of the treatment is to prevent the progression of the disease.

Treatment options typically include the use of corrective glasses or lenses or corrective surgical procedures. It is also possible to prescribe medications for patients with secondary symptoms.

The use of glasses is by far the first treatment that is contemplated in a patient with hyperopia. It does not correct the main cause, but prevents further worsening of the sight. Contact lenses are often more comfortable and allow for a wider range of sight, but when not properly handled, they can cause severe injuries.

This is only considered as the last option, especially in cases of severe hyperopia. It is done through different modalities of laser procedures, especially Laser In-Situ Keratomileusis (LASIK) and Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK).

LASIK consists of a beam of light that will pass through the eyes to remove a small amount of tissue is from the eye and reshape the cornea. Similarly, PRK rays reach the corneal stroma, the outer part of the eye, removes the underneath layers that contribute to affect the visual acuity.

Other treatments include lens implants, also known as refractive lens exchange. In this case, a new lens is placed inside the eye to cancel out the defect that causes hyperopia.