Hypermetropia (Far-Sightedness): Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment

Our eyes are intricate, complex, and powerful. We all want to have perfect sight. Depending on the position of an object, our eyes adjust to view them.  

When your eye can only view objects that are far away but not the nearby ones clearly, it leads to a condition called hypermetropia, also known as long-sightedness or farsightedness.  Hypermetropia can occur in adults and kids. However, with young children, it may get better with age.

What is Far-Sightedness (Hypermetropia)?
Far-sightedness occurs when the eyes feel the strain while focusing on objects up close. 

For your eyes to see an object, the light enters through the cornea and strikes the lens. The lens focuses the light depending on a nearby or faraway object. The light falls on the retina, which is like a screen on which it creates an inverted image. The brain adds depth to the image and makes it upright.

In hypermetropia, light is focused far behind the retina, causing nearby things to look blurred. If the condition is severe, it can also affect distant vision.

Causes of Hypermetropia

There is no specific identified hypermetropia causes. For one, it may be hereditary and age-related. Other physiological conditions are problems in the retina and abnormal shape of the eyeball or lens. 

If the eyeball is small in size, the amount of light entering the cornea is lesser, hence straining the eye.

 Some risk factors for far-sightedness include eye strain due to screen time, lack of sleep, and other medical conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

Symptoms of Hypermetropia

The obvious hypermetropia symptoms through which it is identified are:

• Strain and difficulty in seeing nearby objects or reading
• Objects appear blurred when closer and clear when away 
• Tiredness in the eyes after reading, looking at your phone or working on a computer 
• Headaches 
• Redness in the eyes 

In children, the symptoms of long-sightedness may be negligible. A person suffering from hypermetropia may find it difficult to see with both eyes and depth perception may be compromised.

Diagnosis for Hypermetropia

Hyperopia is diagnosed by a basic eye examination where a phoropter or refractor is used to check if you can read an eye chart with prescribed lenses. For children, this is done by using a retinoscope to check where light is being aimed inside your eye. This is called a refraction assessment and helps get the correct prescription for glasses.

A visual acuity test helps measure the clarity of vision at different distances. If the condition seems to be caused by a physiological reason, a slit-lamp exam is conducted to check the structure of the eyes.

A dilated eye exam is conducted to assess if enough light passes through your cornea. 

Treatments for Hypermetropia

The most common hypermetropia treatment is prescription glasses or contact lenses. These can be used after being examined and diagnosed by an ophthalmologist.  The prescribed glasses have positive lenses to enhance the eye’s focusing power.

If vision is severely affected, refractive surgery can be performed to change the shape of the cornea and correct vision. Lasik eye surgery or lens replacement surgery are other common options. 

Some self-care steps to be taken even after wearing prescription glasses or hypermetropia lenses are regular eye check-ups, good eye hygiene, eating healthy, and getting enough sleep.Surgical correction of presbyopia is also available at our Nethradhama super speciality eye hospital .

Advanced Laser Vision Correction: Presbyond

Presbyond Laser Blended Vision is an innovative refractive surgery technique that can address hypermetropia, especially in patients with presbyopia (age-related difficulty in focusing on near objects). This procedure, developed by Carl Zeiss Meditec, combines traditional excimer laser correction with an approach that increases depth of field, enabling patients to see clearly at multiple distances.

How Presbyond Works:

• Laser Blended Vision: Presbyond creates a slight difference in refractive power between the dominant and non-dominant eyes, a principle similar to monovision correction. However, it enhances this by optimizing depth of focus in each eye.
• Custom Correction: Using wavefront-guided technology, Presbyond corrects refractive errors like hypermetropia while also addressing higher-order aberrations, providing sharper vision.
• Neuroadaptation: The brain learns to merge images from both eyes, allowing seamless vision at near, intermediate, and far distances.

Benefits of Presbyond for Hypermetropia:

• Suitable for patients with low to moderate hypermetropia and presbyopia.
• Reduces dependence on reading glasses and bifocals.
• Provides a smooth transition between visual distances, improving quality of life.

Considerations:

• Patients must undergo thorough preoperative evaluation to ensure suitability.
• Postoperative neuroadaptation can take a few weeks to months, depending on the individual.

Presbyond offers a cutting-edge alternative for hypermetropic patients, particularly those seeking a long-term solution for both farsightedness and presbyopia. This approach aligns well with advancements in personalized refractive surgery.

Controlling chronic health conditions such as hypertension and diabetes can also keep hyperopia in check.

Conclusion

Hypermetropia is a condition that can be prevented by maintaining good health and lifestyle habits right from an early age. Despite that, if you have hyperopia, it can be managed by wearing eyeglasses. Addressing hypermetropia at its onset will help you reduce the strain on the eyes and see clearly.