Definition:
Farsightedness or hyperopia is a common vision condition in which an affected person can see objects in the distance clearly, but objects nearby may be blurry.
The degree of farsightedness determines your focusing ability and for people with severe farsightedness, they can only clearly see objects at a great distance while those with mild farsightedness may clearly see objects that are closer.
Diagnosis:
A basic eye exam can diagnose farsightedness. Routine eye care can be provided by an ophthalmologist, optometrist, and an optician.
Treatment:
Treatment of farsightedness is aimed at helping to focus light on the retina using corrective lenses or refractive surgery. Most young people do not need corrective lenses since they still have the ability to focus on nearby objects. Corrective lenses counteract the decreased curvature of the cornea or the smaller size of the eye. Corrective lenses include eyeglasses and contact lenses.
Refractive surgery meanwhile include Laser-assisted in-situ keratomileusis (LASIK), Laser-assisted subepithelial keratectomy (LASEK), Photorefractive keratectomy (PRK), and Conductive keratoplasty (CK). These surgeries correct farsightedness by reshaping the curvature of the cornea.
Symptoms and Signs:
Farsightedness may mean nearby objects appear blurry, there's a need to squint to see clearly, affected person experiences eyestrain including burning eyes, aching in or around the eyes, and general eye discomfort or a headache after prolonged interval of doing close tasks.
Causes:
Farsightedness is a refractive error, which means that the cornea or lens of the eyes is not evenly and smoothly curved. The light is focused behind the retina instead of being precisely focused on the retina.
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