About us | Contact us | Privacy Policy | Disclaimer | Ad. Policy | Resources | Terms of use 

Hyperopia farsightedness is a vision condition in which distant objects are usually seen clearly, but close ones do not come into proper focus. Farsightedness occurs if your eyeball is too short or the cornea has too little curvature, so light entering your eye is not focused correctly.

This page contains

• Hyperopia symptoms and signs
• Hyperopia causes
• Hyperopia treatments

Common vision screenings, often done in schools, are generally ineffective in detecting farsightedness. A comprehensive optometric examination will include testing for farsightedness.

In mild cases of farsightedness, your eyes may be able to compensate without corrective lenses. In other cases, your optometrist can prescribe eyeglasses or contact lenses to optically correct farsightedness by altering the way the light enters your eyes.

Hyperopia symptoms and signs

Common signs of farsightedness include difficulty in concentrating and maintaining a clear focus on near objects, eye strain, fatigue and/or headaches after close work, aching or burning eyes, irritability or nervousness after sustained concentration.

Hyperopia causes

This vision problem occurs when light rays entering the eye focus behind the retina, rather than directly on it. The eyeball of a farsighted person is shorter than normal.

Many children are born with hyperopia, and some of them "outgrow" it as the eyeball lengthens with normal growth.

Sometimes people confuse hyperopia with presbyopia, which also causes near vision problems but for different reasons.

Hyperopia treatments

Farsightedness can be corrected with glasses or contact lenses to change the way light rays bend into the eyes. If your glasses or contact lens prescription begins with plus numbers, like +2.50, you are farsighted.

You may need to wear your glasses or contacts all the time or only when reading, working on a computer or doing other close-up work.

Refractive surgery, such as LASIK or CK, is another option for correcting hyperopia. Surgery may reduce or eliminate your need to wear glasses or contact lenses. Investigational procedures involving corneal inlays and onlays may be a future option for correcting hyperopia.