Farsightedness (Hyperopia)

People with farsightedness (hyperopia) can see well at a distance, but have trouble focusing on objects up close. If you are farsighted, you may notice yourself holding books at an arm’s length or backing away from your computer monitor. About 25% of the population is farsighted, and the condition is fairly common in children. The vision of children may improve as they grow and the eyeball lengthens. Farsightedness is one of the top reasons patients wear corrective glasses or contact lenses or undergo refractive procedures such as LASIK.

What Is Farsightedness?

When vision is perfect, the light entering the front of the eye through the cornea is focused on a single point on the retina. The cornea bends the light rays (refraction), with further refinement by the lens, to focus the light onto the retina at the back of the eyeball. Farsightedness is a refractive error which causes the light to focus at a point beyond the retina instead of focusing directly on it. This makes up-close objects appear out of focus, while far away objects may appear clear.

What Causes Farsightedness?

Farsightedness is the result of an eyeball that is too short. This causes the light to project past the retina making near vision blurry.

How Is Farsightedness Treated?

Contact lenses or glasses are often prescribed to correct farsightedness. They bend (refract) the light at a sharper angle so that it reaches the retina correctly for clearer up-close vision. But corrective lenses are not the best long-term solution for everyone, and many people choose refractive procedures such as LASIK for permanent, reliable vision correction.

LASIK often produces results that are better than 20/20, and liberates patients from the discomfort, expense, and hassle of corrective lenses. Learn more about our personalized approach to LASIK.

Please click on this link to The American Academy of Ophthalmology for further information:

https://www.aao.org/eye-health/diseases/hyperopia-farsightedness