Hyperopia

Hyperopia, also known as farsightedness, long-sightedness, or hypermetropia, is a condition of the eye in which distant objects are seen clearly but near objects appear blurred. The blur occurs because incoming light is focused behind, rather than on, the retina due to insufficient accommodation by the lens. Minor hyperopia in young patients is usually corrected by their own accommodation with no apparent defect in vision, though the accommodative effort required for distant vision can cause eye strain during prolonged reading. Higher degrees of hyperopia cause defective vision for both distance and near, and can be associated with accommodative dysfunction, binocular dysfunction, amblyopia, and strabismus. Newborns are almost invariably hyperopic, and the condition gradually decreases as the child gets older.