Farsightedness (hyperopia) is a type of eye refraction when an image is focused not on a specific area of the retina but behind it. This is the reason for a blurred image that the retina perceives.

A reason for hyperopia

A reason for hyperopia may be a shortened eye bulb size or low refractive power of the optical system of the eye. Its increase will make the rays focus on the place where they are supposed to if the vision is normal.

Eyesight is getting poor with age, especially at a close distance, because eyes are losing the accommodation ability as a result of age-related changes in the crystalline lens – its elasticity is decreasing, the muscles that hold it are getting weaker – this all causes the vision to decrease. That is why almost everyone over the age of 40-50 is farsighted (hyperopic).

Types of myopia

Ophthalmologists distinguish several types of myopia:

• low — up to + 2.0 D
• medium — up to + 5.0 D
• high — over + 5.0 D

With low hyperopia, both distant and near vision are good, but the patients may complain of fatigue, headaches and dizziness. With medium hyperopia, people are able to see things clearly at a far distance but they experience problems focusing on the objects close at hand. With highhyperopia, the vision is poor at any distance as the eyes’ ability to focus the image on the retina is lost completely and the patients cannot clearly see even the objects located at a far distance.

Hyperopia and age-related farsightedness (presbyopia) can be revealed only if a special testing is carried out.