Long-sightedness, also known as hypermetropia or hyperopia is a common vision disorder. It results from the overall power of the eye not being strong enough, or the length of the eye being too short.

Symptoms

People with hypermetropia may suffer from: Headaches, Eye strain,Blurred vision,in some instances, squints (eye turning). These signs and symptoms are worse when conducting near vision tasks like reading, and may be intermittent. Hypermetropia symptoms can manifest themselves during periods when the patient is doing lots of close work, for example, during exam periods for school children. In the short term, the visual system can compensate for small amounts of long-sightedness but this can become problematic if effort is exerted over prolonged periods of time.

Causes

When the power of the eye is not strong enough, or the length of the eye is too short, the rays of light that enter the eye fall behind the retina rather than falling on the retina in focus. Hypermetropia can result in blurred vision, primarily at near distance, but depending on its severity it can also affect distance vision. This is a common condition that can occur at any age. However, because hypermetropia is caused by the eye being too short or the optical components of the eye not being strong enough, it is quite common for children to have small degrees of long-sightedness that they may grow out of over time as their eyes grow longer.