Things You Should Know About Hyperopia

To understand Hyperopia it is first important to understand a normal (non-hypoeropic) eye, called the emmetropic eye, looks like and how it works to help you see clearly. When light enters the eye through the dark black opening of the eye called the pupil, light rays are actually bent by too powerful structures of the eye. The first is the clear outer covering of the eye called the Cornea, as light rays pass further into the eye they are further bent by the interoccular lens so that all the light rays come together to form a perfect focal point on the retina.

When light rays do not form a perfect focal point of light on the retina the eye is said to have a refractive error or refractive condition. Hyperopia is one such refractive error of the eye. With Hyperopia light rays do not converge enough to form a focal point on the retina. The experience of one who has hyperopia is that they have trouble seeing things up close (and in some cases can have trouble seeing things clearly far away as well). Because all of those suffering from hyperopia will have trouble seeing things clearly up close for sure, it is commonly referred to as farsightedness, meaning things far away are typically clear but blurry up close. This can cause trouble when reading or doing any close work with your eyes. People who have hyperopia, or farsightedness, may experience headaches from straining their eyes trying to see clearly up close.

What Makes Hyperopia Different from Myopia?

If you don’t already know what myopia is, it’s the condition of not being able to see things clearly in the distance. Myopia therefore is referred to as nearsightedness, as it’s more commonly referred to. Hyperopia is almost the exact opposite as Myopia, and it is caused by one of three factors or a combination of all three factors. First it can be caused by a Cornea that is too flat. Second it can be caused by an inter-ocular lens that is too weak. Third it can be caused by too great distance from the back of the eye to the inter-ocular lens. Or it could be a combination of all those three factors. The net result is light rays that enter the eye do not converge to a focal point on the retina.
What Can You Do About Hyperopia?

The most common treatment for hyperopia is the use of glasses or contact lenses. Your Eye Doctor will prescribe a specific type of prescription to assist the eye converge light rays to a focal point exactly on the retina. By using a Plus Converging Lens (a “plus” lens) to help the eye converge light onto the retina. The lenses are convex (think oval-shaped) and bend light rays inward.

Fortunately, hyperopia is easy to correct. Visiting an eye doctor to get the problem diagnosed is the first step—then you can decide what treatment plan you’d like to pursue.