Eye Health Matters > Vision Correction-Farsightedness

Farsightedness, or hyperopia, refers to vision that is good at a distance but may be poor at close range. Farsightedness occurs when the eyeball is slightly smaller than normal, as measured from front to back, or when the cornea has too little curvature. This reduces the distance between the cornea and retina, causing light to converge behind the retina, rather than on it. Essentially the overall power of the eye is too weak.

Since we're usually born with eyes that are too small, the majority of infants are farsighted. As we grow, the "normal" eye gets longer and by 1 year, close vision is generally clear. Even when it doesn't, farsightedness - also known as long-sightedness - may go unnoticed until middle age - when the muscles controlling the lens begin to weaken and can no longer compensate (or add strength) for the limitation in near vision. This is why farsightedness, which is usually congenital, will often lie dormant until later in life.

Disease such as retinopathy, eye tumors and lens dislocation can also contribute to farsightedness, which is easily treated with corrective lenses and can also be managed with refractive laser surgery.

Symptoms

People who are farsighted typically have good distance vision, but may find it difficult to do close visual tasks, such as reading. Besides blurred vision or difficulty focusing during close work such as reading, other symptoms include:

• Aching, burning, red or tearing eyes
  
  
• Eye fatigue
  
  
• Headaches or "brow" aches (occurring on the top of the eye), which can result from overworked ciliary or "focusing" muscles
  
  
• Reduced hand-eye coordination
  
  
• Severely farsighted children may appear cross-eyed - a condition called accommodative esotropia. It can be constant or intermittent and usually develops around age 3 or 4.
  

Farsightedness is believed to be genetic, with little evidence of environmental influence. Your eye doctor may recommend that you keep work areas well-lit and free of glare. It's also a good idea to give your eyes a break and"zoom out" during long periods of close work by focusing on distant objects every 30 minutes or so.

Occasionally, conditions such as diabetes, lens dislocations and eye tumors can cause farsightedness. Of course, if you experience any symptoms, see your eye doctor for a complete examination. Children should be examined by age 3 and those with severe hyperopia need to be monitored to avoid the development of crossed eyes (strabismus) or lazy eye (amblyopia).