Do you struggle to see clearly up close? you may have hyperopia. But it could also be presbyopia. The truth is they are similar optically but have very different causes. Since they are different conditions, the treatment options will vary as well.
Hyperopia occurs when the light that enters the eye can not focus on the retina, because the eye is to short, the light actually would focus behind the eye. This occurs when the distance between the front and back of the eye is too shot. People can have hyperopia at any age. Young children will often out grow hyperopia as they become older. However if they don’t, hyperopia can be corrected with either contacts or eyeglasses. For mild hyperopic corrections some reading eyeglasses can correct vision. Corrective surgery, such as LASIK, is one available treatment option.
Presbyopia, on the other hand, also causes one to have difficulty reading close up, but it is age-related, and affects people over 40. It is the result of the lens inside the eye becoming harder and losing flexibility with age. The visual result is similar to that of hyperopia; poor vision at near. In general, this is corrected with lenses. reading eyeglasses are commonly used to bring clarity to objects at near distances. Another option is to use contact lenses for monovision, when one eye is corrected for distance vision and the other corrected for near vision. Monovision wearers must train their eyes to adapt to a new way of viewing things up close and far away. Very similar to bifocal or progressive eyeglasses, multifocal contact lenses can correct presbyopia.
Hyperopia is not inevitable, and it can be treated surgically. Presbyopia will eventually effect us all, but until very recently was not treated with surgery. When eyes begin to lose flexibility and are no longer to see crisply and clearly close up, it is time for treatment. Even though there are surgical options available for presbyopia, the majority of people still choose a simple pair of readers. They are safe and do not require anestesia of lasers near the eye, plus they can be very stylish too. Once a person has accepted that they need reading glasses, they may as well get a pair that will be fashionable too.
