Hypermetropia

What is farsightedness?

Farsightedness is a very common eye condition in which distant objects appear clearly, but near objects may appear blurry. If you are farsighted, your eyes work better at focusing on distant objects than near objects.

Farsightedness usually affects adults over the age of 40, however, it can affect people of all ages and children as well. It can be corrected with glasses or contact lenses.

Symptoms of farsightedness

Symptoms you might experience if you are farsighted are:

  • Near objects may appear blurry.
  • You may have to squint to see clearly.
  • Your eyes may feel tired or strained when focusing on close objects, such as reading or writing.
  • You may have headaches

Children who are farsighted may not have obvious symptoms at first, but if left untreated may develop other conditions such as squinting or a lazy eye.

Farsightedness can be corrected with glasses, contact lenses, or refractive eye surgery.

Medical tests to diagnose farsightedness

If you think you may be suffering from farsightedness, you will need to have an eye test, which can be booked at any local optician. An eye test will confirm whether or not you are nearsighted and what prescription you will need for glasses or contact lenses.

You should have an eye test every two years to make sure your prescription is kept up to date. If you think it has changed, book an eye test to confirm it.

Read Now 👉  Childhood Pain

What causes farsightedness?

Farsightedness occurs when the eyes do not focus light correctly on the retina. The retina is the layer at the back of the eye. This may be because the eyeball is too short, the lens cannot focus, or the cornea is flatter. The cornea is the clear layer at the front of the eye.

Treatments for farsightedness

Children and younger adults do not always need glasses to correct farsightedness because their eyes are able to adjust. However, adults will need glasses or contact lenses to adjust their vision.

Adults who are interested in becoming independent of glasses may consider laser refractive surgery to correct their vision.

What type of specialist treats farsightedness?

Ophthalmologists will treat and diagnose farsightedness.