What is Hypermetropia?
Also called farsightedness, long-sightedness and hyperopia, this common vision problem occurs when someone can only see objects clearly when they are a certain distance away. This is why it is called being farsighted. As a case advances, eventually all vision may become blurry.
Hypermetropia is not an eye disease; it is an optical error where the cornea focuses light coming into the eye at a point behind the retina. This means, the light is still diffuse when it hits the back of the eyeball.
While eye injuries can result in the condition, the usual causes are a misshapen cornea, weak focusing muscles or an eyeball that is simply too short. Thus, nothing in the eye is ‘unhealthy’, it’s just that various parts of the eye cannot cooperate for correct function.
Farsightedness is sometimes confused with astigmatism and especially presbyopia as they have similar symptoms and causes.
How common is Hypermetropia?
It is one of the most regularly encountered of all eye conditions.
Affecting around 10 percent of children, its incidence tails off through adolescence and early adulthood, then steadily rises again with age.
If you are over 40, there is a greater than 50 percent change you have hypermetropia to some degree.
What are the symptoms?
Some symptoms of hypermetropia include:
- inability to focus on things that are close
- difficulty with depth perception
- eye strain
- squinting
- headaches.
Treatment options for Hypermetropia
Treatment for hypermetropia depends on age and severity. As many children will grow out of the condition, their cases are usually regarded as temporary and treated with glasses.
For the more common type of hypermetropia when the condition develops with the onset of middle age, glasses and contact lenses may also be used, as well as various kinds of laser treatment and surgeries.