Understanding Farsightedness

Millions in the U.S. are farsighted. Also referred to as hyperopia, this is a refractive error that causes difficulties clearly seeing nearby objects. This problem may affect not only your visual health, but also your safety and daily efficiency.

Insight Vision Center Optometry, your trusted orthokeratology clinic, talks about hyperopia in detail.

Common Risk Factors and Causes

Hyperopia typically develops when your eyeball is shorter than the ideal or your cornea is too rigid. These structural irregularities may impair the light-bending cycle in your eyes. As a result, the light rays that enter your eyes are displaced behind the retina instead of directly on it.

Although it’s unclear how these infirmities develop, heredity is a strong risk factor for hyperopia development. This means that if you have farsighted relatives, there’s a good chance that you’ll have this issue as well. This vision problem often develops in your younger years. However, your eye doctors explain that it’s still possible for this refractive error to happen in adulthood.

Typical Signs and Symptoms

Having a hard time seeing objects up-close is the hallmark sign of hyperopia. Your far-range visual acuity, on the other hand, remains sharp. You may struggle when you’re reading, sewing or cooking. You may even have headaches and nausea when doing close work.

Our Suggested Management

Before anything else, we’ll perform a comprehensive eye exam to confirm hyperopia. If we find signs of this refractive error, we may prescribe eyeglasses or contact lenses to help you see nearby objects clearly. We may also recommend using ortho-k molds.

What makes ortho-k different from other vision correction options is these special molds are meant to be worn while you’re sleeping. They gently reshape your cornea overnight, reducing its surface irregularities. Upon waking up, you may remove them and enjoy the rest of the day with improved visual acuity without having to use your corrective eyewear.

For more information about farsightedness, you may reach us at (714) 486-3315. You may also complete our form to request an appointment. We serve Costa Mesa, Newport Beach and nearby California areas.