Hyperopia is a pathology of the eye, a refractive error like astigmatism, characterized by a blurred vision of close objects and a clear vision of distant objects due to a wrong refraction of the light that pass through the retina.
Hyperopia may occur when the eyeball is too short or the ability to focus is impaired. Therefore, watching television may be a problem, but reading a motorway billboard is not. It is exactly the opposite of myopia.
Hyperopia may be caused by different factors, but generally it is hereditary. Hyperopia is quite frequent: it is estimated that at least five million Italians are affected, even if these data are uncertain data as this disease is often asymptomatic, that is it does not cause substantial defects in vision. This happens because physiologically the eye up to a certain age, between 35 and 40, succeeds in correcting the slight hyperopia problems by itself, thanks to the so-called accommodative power. Hyperopia is often accompanied by astigmatism. Some asymptomatic adults may present with amblyopia (lazy eye) and presbyopia. The worst complication is the increased risk of glaucoma.
The main symptoms of hyperopia include:
- difficulty focusing on close-up objects
- headache
- lacrimation
- eye pain.
Solutions for hyperopia and LASER refractive surgery
Eyeglasses or contact lenses are the most common methods to correct the symptoms of hyperopia. These help to converge the light rays on the retina, thus compensating the impaired vision due to the conformation of the eye affected by hyperopia.
In other cases, hyperopia can be corrected with excimer laser refractive surgery, which remodels the cornea by increasing its refractive power. When the vision impairment is high and if the excimer laser cannot be used, the phakic lenses can be implanted in the anterior or posterior chamber.
Vista Vision clinics in Italy, with cutting-edge laser technology, perform hyperopia surgeries with the latest-generation excimer laser and phakic lens implants.