Hyperopia vs. Myopia: Understanding the Differences Between Nearsightedness and Farsightedness

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Hyperopia vs. Myopia: Understanding the Differences Between Nearsightedness and Farsightedness

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Hyperopia vs. Myopia: Understanding the Differences Between Nearsightedness and Farsightedness

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Hyperopia vs. Myopia: Understanding the Differences Between Nearsightedness and Farsightedness

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Hyperopia vs. Myopia: Understanding the Differences Between Nearsightedness and Farsightedness

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Numerous visual conditions have been known to affect humans for millennia. Before recent times, there has not been a considerable number in history affected by these three conditions. Astigmatism, hyperopia, and myopia are the most common eye conditions. Of the three, hyperopia and myopia are the ones affecting most people. 


Hyperopia and myopia are two ends of the spectrum affecting visual acuity. Sometimes, differentiating between the two can be challenging, but you can easily tell them apart with some information. The two differ in their causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment. 

 

How Do You Tell Which One You Have?

 

The easiest way to know which of the two conditions affects you is to undergo a distance vision test. The first step is resting your eyes, either by closing your eyes or looking away from a screen for some time. Then try doing close-up work like reading a magazine or a book. If the words look blurry or you feel a headache coming on, you may be farsighted. 


Next, look at something a little distance away, like a road sign or book cover. If the images and the large titles look blurry, the chance is that you are nearsighted. If you have difficulty with both exercises, you may have both conditions simultaneously. 

 

What Is Nearsightedness? 

 

Nearsightedness or myopia is the more prevalent of the two leading refractive errors, affecting nearly 30% of the population. The eye condition makes distance vision difficult as objects get blurry the further they move from your face. 

 

Causes

 

Myopia usually occurs due to changes in the structure of the eye. In myopes, the eyeball elongates when they are children and the cornea bulges. These structural changes alter how light refracts into the eye and the focus position. Usually, light focuses on the retina, but in people with myopia, it focuses right in front of it. 

 

Symptoms

 

The primary symptom of myopia is a blurry vision when trying to use distance vision. You will usually need help with reading signs at the mall or road signs when driving. Other symptoms usually develop when you exert yourself to do distance vision work. Some of these would be:
 

  • Squinting

  • Headaches

  • Eye soreness or fatigue

 

What Is Farsightedness?

 

Farsightedness is the second and lesser common of the two conditions. With hyperopia, near-vision is difficult as things get blurrier the closer they are to your face. 

 

Causes

 

The cause of farsightedness is the same as myopia in that the structure of the eye changes. However, the eyeball is shorter than an elongated eyeball, and the cornea is flatter than usual. The result is an image that focuses behind the retina, resulting in blurry vision. 

 

Symptoms

 

The most known symptom of hyperopia is struggling to do near-vision work like reading. Other symptoms include:
 

  • Burning, pain, or aching around the eyes

  • Squinting

  • Headaches develop when doing close-up work like reading


For more on the differences between nearsightedness and farsightedness, visit Green Eye Care at our office in New York, New York. Call (347) 757-5475​​​​​​​ to book an appointment today.

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