Hyperopia - Hypermetropia - correction and treatment

Farsightedness ( hyperopia, hypermetropia) can be corrected by prescription eyeglasses, contact lenses and increased using of surgery majors nowadays, although it still does not achieve the same number compared with the surgical solution of myopia.

Correction of farsightedness by prescription eyeglasses

Correction by prescription eyeglasses and correction of hyperopia in general is very specific and depends on several factors. The age, amount, extent and type of a disorder plays an important role. We also can not forget the subjective needs of those in question.

Extent of disorder

Small disorders, without a presence of astenopic or any other difficulties when visual acuity is normal and without any restrictions, are not to be corrected. Correction is needed in major and small disorders with the occurance of difficulties already mentioned.

Age of the examined

Children in preschool age are prescribed eyeglasses only at high amounts of disorders or when squinting. It is important to detect a disorder or strabismus early and start treating it to prevent a creation of amblyopia. Children in school age are given correction only in the case of disorder higher than +3 diopters.

As already mentioned, people are born with a ceratin amount of hyperopia. Gradually, as growing they go through the process called emmetropisation - the amount of farsightedness is being reduced. However, some children do not go through this phase fully and remain in higher or lower amount of farsightedness. Either way, it is necessary to make regular eye examinations for all farsighted children as they are in an age when their amounts of disorder change and especially vision is developing.

Young adults usually refuse the low correction. The first difficulties occur depending on the amount of disorder in the age between 30-40. They are caused by a frequent, long-term work in the close. Large accommodative reserve protects them from bigger problems associated with their farsightedness (hypermetropia, hyperopia). During this period, it is appropriate to prescribe a correction to close at least, but sometimes also for a permanent wearing.

Adults in the middle age refuse the full correction and are temporarily satisfied with a correction to close. Gradually, the lens loses its elasticity, the ability of accommodation is reduced and when a long-term accommodation exceeds 2/3 of accommodative width thus difficulties arise.

Asymptomatic patients begin to feel some difficulties caused by blurred vision and visual discomfort. They have problems not just with reading, but still more and more having problems when looking into the distance, especially while driving. Facultative hypermetropia can no loger be maintained by increased accommodative activity of ciliary muscle due to decreasing elasticity of the eye lens. The disorder should be corrected.

Elder people receive the full correction very well.

Correction of farsightedness by contact lenses

Contact lenses represent another way of farsightedness correcting. They are used by people, who are unable to adapt to wearing eyeglasses, for example due to anisometropia or simply because they do not feel comfortable when wearing eyeglasses for some reason or interfere them when doing some sport or working.

Anisometropia

Anisometropia is a phenomenon, when there is not the same value of refraction in both eyes. It may be of a low amount - it is quite common, but also of a higher amount, when the difference of refraction in both eyes is higher than 3 diopters. This difference causes accommodative difficulties and there are various sizes of images on the retina.

It means that there is a disorder called aniseikonia. The ability of the eyes to combine two images into one sense-perseption (fusion) is violated and difficulties with a simple binocular vision occur. Gradually, the better seeying eye is prefered, the eye with a lower refractive disorder and anisometropic amblyopia develops.

When contact lenses are to be used

Contact lenses are used at high amounts of hypermetropia with nystagmus present or absent, involuntary movement of one or both eyes and hypermetropia with accommodative esotropia, which creates a disproportion between adaptable convergence and accommodation.

The common reasoning of contact lenses wearing includes appearance, weight and fogging of eyeglasses, etc.

Surgery majors - eye surgery

The essence of surgical solution of hypermetropia is increasing of refraction of the eye optical system, which is deficient now. As surgical treatment of myopia, keratotomy was one of the first solutions. However, in the case of hypermetropia, hexagonal keratotomies with the help of six carfs are concerned. In practise it is not well-tested, so it is not used now.

The modern surgery uses excimer laser and methods as LASEK, LASIK, PRK and others.

The surgery majors of hypermetropia are generally not performed in the same extent as in the case of myopia.