Only few people know that this defect affects everybody – after birth, our eyes are short-sighted. After time everything is naturally corrected but some people deal with this defect also in the future.
It is given by the fact that even after birth the development of the eye is not completed at all, so the eye of a newborn still grows and develops for some time. When the eye is full-grown, the defect disappears. Sometimes the sagittal length of the eye remains smaller (the eye is so called “short“) and farsightedness lasts.
The reason for this refractive defect could also be different flaws of the cornea and eye lens, lower optical density of a certain part of an eye or changes of the eye caused by some diseases (e.g. diabetes) or by an injury.
Farsightedness is also called hypermetropia or hyperopia. Most people cannot infer the meaning of the disease from its name or they are mistaken by it – mainly because it is called farsightedness and it represents worse short distance. In this case, the rays of light, passing through eye lens and cornea, meet behind the retina instead of on it, so the image on the retina is blurred. But this defect doesn´t have to appear in the young age. The vision often deteriorates at the age of 35 – 40, when the flexibility of the eye lens decreases and it cannot adjust as well as before.
Farsightedness can be detected during an eye examination. The acuteness of the defect is expressed in plus diopters. The most usual farsightedness is from +2 to +6 diopters, but sometimes extending to +20,0 diopters. At values +0,25 to +3,0 diopters we speak about slight defect, values +3,25 to +6,0 diopters represent medium farsightedness, from +6,25 to +9,0 diopters we talk about high defect. Serious defect (from +9,25 up) comes with impaired vision, but not only in the near but also for further objects. Farsightedness is often accompanied by purblindness and strabismus (squint).
In the childhood and young age, the minor defects are not visible and one does not know about them. The eye can deal with this defect and thanks to constant activity of the so called ciliary muscle, that is a part of an eye, the vision is corrected and adjusted. However this constant activity of the eye is very strenuous and sometimes can be accompanied by burning and tingling feeling in the eye, headache, tiredness or nausea. One can experience reduced efficiency, uncomfortable sensation when reading, increased stress level etc. These problems are called asthenopic problems.
Farsightedness brings more distinctive and subjective problems at the age of 40. With increasing age the adaptive abilities of the eye deteriorate, the eye lens is not able to focus and besides more frequent asthenopic problems, people experience bad vision. The eyesight deteriorates not only with close objects but also with the ones in the distance.
Lighter defects are not necessary to correct. But every correction always depends on a particular individual, his lifestyle, size of the defect, age, job he does etc. The easiest possibility for improving vision is glasses or contact lenses. So called plus lenses (converging lenses) are used on glasses. For correcting the farsightedness, contact lenses must have a convex shape (thicker in the middle than on the sides), that regulates the impact of the light, so the rays meet directly on the retina and the vision is sharp. But neither glasses nor contact lenses are comfortable for some people and so farsighted people are looking for other solutions. For them laser operations and intraocular surgeries are ideal.
Modern solutions for the refractive defects are operations, which treat the defect for good. Laser operations maximally utilize the possibilities of modern instruments, which, using the laser beam, can adjust the curvature of the eye cornea. And so the rays of light intersect exactly on the retina and the image is sharp. Laser operations are appropriate not only in case of farsightedness, but also nearsightedness and astigmatism.
For those who suffer from farsightedness we recommend laser operation NeoSMILE 3D, it is our best and impeccable method for removing dioptric defects with the help of a laser. The basis of the work of the laser is a very precise map of the eye. It is created by measuring the eye by a special machine, recording even very small irregularities of the optic system of the eye. Then the laser removes them.
In some cases, for example farsighted patients with a defect bigger than +4 diopters, patients with a thin cornea or patients in middle or high age (over 45 years old) we recommend an intraocular operation. During the operation, the original eye lens is removed and a new, artificial intraocular lens is implanted – vision is then constantly sharp and clear.