While many people have difficulty seeing distant objects clearly -- a condition known as myopia -- some have the opposite problems. If you suffer from hyperopia (also called farsightedness), you may see clearly over great distances but have trouble bringing book text or needlework into sharp focus. Fortunately, there are several ways to compensate for this refractive error -- and we're more than happy to provide those options for you here at our Jacksonville FL optometry center, VAL-Uvision.
What Is Hyperopia?
Myopia and hyperopia are typically caused by abnormalities in the shape of the eyeball. While an elongated eye shape makes people with myopia nearsighted, a foreshortened eye shape makes people with hyperopia farsighted. That's because the incoming light is focused by the lens as if the eyeball were spherical, causing the image to come into focus "behind" the retina instead of directly on it. Hyperopia is less common than myopia, but some 10 to 15 percent of people in the U.S. have some degree of the disorder.
Hyperopia first develops in childhood, but milder forms may not cause obvious vision problems for quite some time. As the condition grows more severe, close-up objects may appear blurry and indistinct. Focusing on text, hobbies, or other close work can cause eye fatigue and headaches, with sufferers squinting to see such objects clearly.
It's worth noting that not all problems involving near vision are caused by hyperopia. Middle-aged individuals can experience the same symptoms due to presbyopia, a hardening of the lenses that makes near focus tougher.
How Your VAL-Uvision Optometrist Can Help
If hyperopia is keeping you from getting up close and personal with the world around you, get the help you need right here at our Jacksonville FL clinic. Your VAL-Uvision optometrist can use refractive and visual acuity testing to diagnose hyperopia and determine its severity. We can then recommend corrective options such as:
Eyeglasses - Eyeglasses are a tried-and-true remedy for the frustrations of farsightedness. We can provide glasses with aspheric high-index indexes, which are thinner, weigh less, and cause less refractive distortion than other types of lenses made for hyperopia patients.
Contact lenses can also do a brilliant job of correcting farsighted vision. You may even decide that you want permanent, lens-free vision correction. In that case, we can co-manage LASIK surgery to help you achieve this goal.
Bring Your Vision Back Into Focus -- Call Our Jacksonville FL Clinic
Sometimes the things in life most worth seeing are right in front of you -- so don't miss out on them. Call 904-701-0223 for an eye and vision exam at our Jacksonville FL clinic!