Live Life Team
Long sightedness is the difficulty in viewing objects that are very near to a person. It is known medically as hyperopia. This is a type of focussing area which worsens with age.
The people who develop hyperopia are generally of the age group of forty and forty five. In certain cases, children may have mild hyperopia during their birth. But this disappears slowly as they grow and their eyes start developing.
In some cases, hyperopia is genetic in nature.
One can use spectacles, contact lenses as well as corrective surgery using laser for curing this condition.
Symptoms
In adults, the symptoms associated with the development of hyperopia are the objects which are really near will be not in focus. The person may have to squint for proper viewing of the objects. The eyes may develop a feeling of being uncomfortable with activities with very close focus like using computer, writing or reading. The person experiences burning as well as pain in his eyes.
The children may develop tearful and red eyes if they have hyperopia. The eyes require squinting for viewing objects in the close focus. The eyes become tired very fast. The blinking of the eyes is more than normal. They develop reluctance for reading.
Causes
A person whose eyeball is very short when compared with the power of focussing of the lens and cornea develops hyperopia. This happens because the light rays are not bent by the lens and cornea. So the objects which are present in close focus become blurry.
In children, the objects which are present in a distance will be clear where as this also diminishes in the older people.
The inherited hyperopia is known as nanophthalmos. The other contributing factors of hyperopia are excessive diabetes, Microphthalmia or the small eye syndrome – this is a condition where one of the eyes or both the eyes have not developed correctly during the pregnancy, presence of tumours, presence of Fovea hypoplasia – a condition associated with blood vessels of the retina.
Treatment
The normal treatment for the hyperopia includes the use of spectacles or the use of contact lenses for correcting the vision. Tests are conducted to identify the type of glasses required.
Children who have squint associated with hyperopia require careful monitoring to avoid the development of amblyopia or lazy eye.
Another option available for the treatment of hyperopia is undergoing su8rgical treatment using laser. The three options available under this are the Photorefractive keratectomy where a part of the corneal surface is removed and then the cornea’s shape is altered using laser. The Laser epithelial keratomileusis where the corneal surface is loosened using alcohol before lifting it. Once the treatment is completed, the cornea is replaced. Laser in situ keratectomy where a small corneal flap is folded for treatment.
The normally preferred method is Laser in situ keratectomy or the LASIK treatment because there is no or very less pain associated with it.
