Hyperopia (farsightedness) is a refractive error where the eye cannot properly focus light. People with hyperopia usually see well at a distance, but close objects appear blurry. However, visual experience can vary – young individuals can often compensate due to the lens’s accommodative ability, while those with high hyperopia may have blurry vision at all distances.
This condition occurs when light focuses behind the retina instead of on it, due to a shorter eyeball, malformed lens, or flat cornea, leading to insufficient refractive power.
Symptoms may include:
– Burning
– Tearing
– Eye strain
– Headache, especially after prolonged near work – Photophobia, due to the shared insertion of accommodative and pupillary muscles.
If one parent is hyperopic, the child has an increased risk, though it can occur without family history. However, a parent does not necessarily have to be hyperopic for their child to be affected. Multiple factors contribute, and genetics is only part of the picture.
Corrective options:
Glasses or contact lenses to refocus light properly on the retina. Laser refractive surgery (LASIK) to reshape the cornea
- Refractive lens exchange (RLE) to replace the natural lens with an intraocular lens, Laser refractive surgery, such as LASIK, which reshapes the cornea to improve light focus.
particularly useful in high hyperopia or presbyopia.