Importance of early correction of farsightedness in children

Farsightedness is a refractive error of the eye whose main consequence is poor near vision.

It is a pathology that affects more children than adults and is the consequence of a “shorter than normal” eye. The incidence of farsightedness is more common at early ages, as the child’s eye is in full development, forming images behind the retina, making it difficult to focus on close objects. A young person with healthy eyes will have a focusing distance or near point at approximately 25 cm. On the other hand, in a hyperopic person the focusing distance will be greater.

How to detect if your child is farsighted and why is it important to treat it early?

Farsightedness is usually hereditary. If not corrected in time, the defect may affect the development of the retina, which will adjust to compensate for it, and amblyopia or eye deviation may then occur.

Hence the importance of monitoring the symptoms that may lead to suspect an ocular defect in children, since they sometimes cannot distinguish “what it is to see well”. However, in most cases, farsightedness disappears as the child grows.

The onset of hyperopia in adults, if their prescription is not very high, does not usually result in reduced visual acuity, as they tend to compensate for hyperopia by accommodating the crystalline lens: the lens increases its power by increasing its thickness and curvature due to the contraction of the muscles that surround it. However, this means a greater strain on the eye, which can produce symptoms such as headaches and eye discomfort.

Read Now 👉  Vitrectomy in 8 steps

How to correct and treat farsightedness?

As with other refractive errors, glasses and contact lenses are the most common option for children to correct farsightedness. There is no evidence that some vitamins or medications help correct farsightedness.

In adults there are different surgical techniques to correct hyperopia: laser refractive surgery (in CIMO Clinic we use the latest technology, ZLASIK surgery, 100% laser using femtosecond laser), surgery with intraocular lens implantation, among other possibilities. The surgical technique used will depend on each case, and it will be the ophthalmologist who will determine, after performing some previous tests and also taking into account the type of life the patient leads, which is the most appropriate surgical technique to eliminate farsightedness.