farsightedness

When you're farsighted, images that are near appear to be more blurry than images in the distance. For example, if you're sitting outside, the person sitting next to you will appear blurry, but the landscape will appear clear. But if your farsightedness is severe, you may have trouble seeing at a distance, too.

Also called hyperopia, farsightedness occurs when the cornea is too flat or the eye is too short. These conditions prevent the light rays entering your eye from bending enough to reach a point of focus on the retina. Instead, the images you see focus behind the retina.

About 11.8 million people in the United States (about 10 percent of the population) have some degree of farsightedness. It occurs far less often than nearsightedness, and its prevalence increases with age.

When you are farsighted, the images you see focus behind rather than on the retina.

When an eye doctor examines your eyes, he or she has a quantitative way of measuring your vision. These numbers describe your vision problems, their severity, and your prescription for vision correction. The typical prescription notation for farsightedness includes a plus sign before the first number.

Treating Farsightedness

The treatment for farsightedness depends on several factors, including your:

• Age
• Activities
• Occupation

Like nearsightedness and astigmatism, farsightedness can be treated with certain vision correction procedures, including LASIK eye surgery, as well as eyeglasses and contact lenses.

Take this simple test to learn more about whether or not you're a good candidate for LASIK surgery.