by Dr. Merrill J. Allen, Dr. Steven M. Beresford, Dr. Francis A. Young. HYPEROPIA SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS In hyperopia (farsightedness), light from near objects is focused behind the retina – usually the result of an eyeball that is too short, and/or a cornea that is too flat, and/or an inner lens that is too thin. Farsighted people can usually see far objects clearly but near objects may be blurred. In extreme cases of hyperopia, even far objects are blurred so nothing can be seen clearly at any distance. Farsightedness is usually inherited. In fact, almost all children are born with a small amount of farsightedness. This seems to be a biological form of insurance that enables the child to see enemies or predators far away, even if the eyeballs are not completely perfect. In most cases, the farsightedness disappears as the child starts reading, watching TV, and playing computer games. In some cases this doesn’t happen and the farsightedness continues into adulthood. HYPEROPIA AND CORRECTIVE LENSES The traditional method of treating hyperopia is with corrective lenses, which modify the light before it enters the eye so that near objects can be seen clearly. Surprisingly, no clinical or statistical studies have demonstrated the long-term safety or effectiveness of corrective lenses. All that is really known is that most people who wear them get worse and need stronger prescriptions every few years. It is also widely believed that corrective lenses cause dependency and make the eyes even weaker so they lose more of their natural focusing power. Recent research suggests that corrective lenses may actually cause the eyeball to become deformed. In a series of important experiments, Dr. Earl Smith of the University of Houston College of Optometry fitted various types of corrective lenses on young rhesus monkeys with normal healthy vision. What he found was that monkeys fitted with corrective lenses used for hyperopia adapted to the lenses by developing hyperopia. When Dr. Smith removed the lenses, the hyperopia disappeared and the monkeys returned to normal! THERAPEUTIC TREATMENT OF HYPEROPIA Although hyperopia is usually inherited, it’s usually possible to increase your natural focusing power with therapeutic eye exercises. The basic strategy is to strengthen your eyes and reduce your dependency on corrective lenses as much as possible. Here are our recommendations: A) Low Hyperopia. If you can read without glasses, we suggest you don’t wear them but increase your natural focusing power by exercising your eyes. B) High Hyperopia. If you can’t read without glasses, we suggest you increase your natural focusing power by exercising your eyes as well as reducing your dependency on corrective lenses and the strength of your prescription. This can usually be accomplished by using weaker glasses from previous years and wearing them as little as possible. The eye exercises should help you to adapt to the weaker lenses. When you can see clearly through them, you can go back to even weaker lenses. We call this progressive undercorrection. You simply adapt to a series of weaker lenses as your eyes become stronger. If you continue to exercise your eyes and increase your natural focusing power, you may eventually be able to read without glasses for most of the time.
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