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What is hyperopia?

Hyperopia is a vision problem which is commonly known as farsightedness or longsightedness. It causes nearby objects to appear blurred, while distant objects can be seen clearly. This is how it works.

What is hyperopia?

 

Farsightedness occurs when the eyeball is slightly too short. This means that light does not focus properly on the light-sensitive tissue (retina) at the back of your eye. Instead, the light rays focus behind the retina, causing nearby objects to appear blurred. Hyperopia often runs in families which means that you can check your family history for hyberopia.


Farsightedness is also linked to age and medical conditions such as diabetes. Age-related farsightedness is known as presbyopia.
The most obvious sign of farsightedness is when you have a difficulty focusing on objects nearby. Other signs can be:

  • Squinting to see clearly
  • Frequent headaches
  • Eye fatigue when reading, writing or using digital devices


Farsightedness can be corrected effectively with convex prescription lenses. These refocus the light correctly on the retina. If you are farsighted, your prescription will be a positive number. The higher the number, the stronger your lenses. If you are concerned about your vision or notice that it has changed, contact your nearest optician.

Find a local optician

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