Farsightedness (Hyperopia) - The Symptoms, Causes And Who Is Affected
July 12th, 2009 | 
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The eye condition hyperopia is more often known as long-sightedness or farsightedness. It is caused by a defect in the ability of the eyes to focus. When somebody is suffering with hyperopia, it means that they are incapable of focusing on things which are nearby, causing their vision to appear blurry. Suffers should still be able to focus in items in the distance.
Our vision is created through a process of light rays coming from an object and going through the cornea and lens, which are at the front of our eyes, that refract the light to focus it on the retina, at the rear of the eye. From here the light rays are translated into electrical signals. These signals are then sent to the brain, which decodes the signal and gives us vision.
As with normal sight, the images a person with farsightedness sees begin as light rays entering the eye through the cornea and lens, but instead of the light rays becoming focused onto the retina, their place of focus is behind the retina, outside of the eyeball itself.
This may be caused if the shape of the eye is not long enough, from front to back, keeping the light rays from being projected onto the retina. Hyperopia can also be caused by the cornea or lens. As the cornea and lens bend the light rays which enter our eyes, if they are incapable of directing the light at the right angle to focus on the retina then the vision will be impaired.
People suffering from farsightedness can be impacted in different ways, based on the life style lead and occupation they do. Someone with farsightedness might find themselves suffering with these everyday symptoms:
Tender and irritable eyes can be a consequence of the continuous struggle to view close objects and to write and read. Constantly staring, trying to bring objects into focus, will stop you from blinking, causing your eyes to grow dried out and feeling irritable.
Difficulty with focusing when reading books or newspapers is perhaps the most often thought of hyperopia symptoms. Many individuals find themselves attempting to hold things at arms length to try to get the contents into focus.
Eyestrain and headaches are regular for people with farsightedness and can result from the eyes being unable to focus on items nearby. Regular squinting may also occur, resulting in headaches and tension from the unnatural effort.
Hyperopia is often linked with the process of ageing. While this is true, the long-sightedness that takes place in middle age is named presbyopia and is a result of the lens of the eye losing its flexibility. Although this is part of the normal ageing process it is still important to go and get your eyesight checked by an optician.
Children may also suffer from hyperopia and some are even born with it. Often the condition will resolve itself as the child’s eyes develop. Though if not treated, farsightedness can cause other issues, lazy eyes for example.
By: Lindsay Pollard
Farsightedness (hyperopia) is a common vision condition in which you can see objects in the distance clearly, but objects nearby may be blurry. The degree of your farsightedness determines your focusing ability.
Eye Excercises To Avoid Farsightedness
This reminded me of my old office mate who has the eye condition called farsightedness or what is also known as hyperopia. Online, via YouTube, I got tips from a Japanese TV show how to avoid suffering eventually from that condition.
Hyperopia commonly known as farsightedness, is an eye condition where people have difficulty seeing close up objects. Vision may be good at a distance, but close up objects are blurred and out of focus.
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